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Better Business Books 



BETTER 
BUSINESS LETTERS 

BETTER 
BUSINESS ENGLISH 

BETTER ADVERTISING 



By 
JOHN M. MANLY 

Head of the Department of Eng- 
lish, The University of Chicago 
and 
JOHN A. POWELL 
The Holtzer-Cabot Electric Com- 
pany, Chicago 

Three Volumes, Uniformly Bound 

in Leatherette, Pocket Size. 

Per Volume, $1.50 



Better Business Books 

BETTER 

ADVERTISING 



A Practical Manual of the Principles of Adver- 
tising, Embracing Institutional and Direct 
Advertising, Reason "Why and Human 
Interest Copy, Elements of the 
Advertisement, and the Make- 
Up of Advertising Cir- 
culars and Folders 



BY 

JOHN M. MANLY 

Head of the Department of English 
The University of Chicago 

AND 

JOHN A. POWELL 

The Holtzer-Cabot Electric Company, Chicago 



CHICAGO 
FREDERICK J. DRAKE & CO. 

PUBLISHERS 



-2. 







Copyright, 1921 

By 

FREDERICK J. DRAKE & CO. 



Printed in U. S. A. 



JUN 1 3 1921 
©CU617344 



I 



L 



PREFACE 



There is a growing number of business concerns whose 
advertising is cared for by someone who is also charged 
with other and unrelated duties. Preparation of cur- 
rent advertising matter is often committed to that mem- 
ber of the office staff who can most conveniently combine 
the task with a variety of other occupations. Thus it 
often falls to the duty of someone with little or no 
knowledge of, or previous training in, the principles 
of advertising. 

This book has been written with such an audience in 
mind. It attempts to give the principles of advertising, 
not in an abstractly scientific form, but in a form such 
as will make them available for application to the daily 
use and immediate requirements of those who feel the 
need of guidance. And most persons, not regularly 
engaged in such work, and suddenly confronted with 
the duty of preparing copy for an advertisement or 
a circular, feel the need of a compass to show them 
the course they should follow. 

The book confines itself to the writing of advertising 
copy only, and does not discuss the technical features 
of typography, of ornamentation, of illustration, or of 
color printing. To include these subjects in the present 
work would make it too discursive, and would tend to 
destroy the object which the authors have kept before 
them — of making it a handy manual for the inexperi- 
enced. The related typographical and mechanical 



PREFACE 

branches of the subject of advertising are treated in 
a separate volume in this series. 

The attempt has been made to show as simply as 
the subject permits that the successful writing of adver- 
tising copy involves important scientific principles, and 
that it is not a task that can be performed without pre- 
vious thought and analysis. At the same time, it is 
hoped that this has been done in a practical way, so 
that the principles discussed can be applied to any situa- 
tion likely to arise in the average business office. 

The reproductions of advertisements, scattered 
throughout the book, are intended to illustrate principles 
discussed in the book, and should be studied in connec- 
tion with the text. If this is intelligently done, this 
book should serve its purpose as a manual for general 
office needs in advertising. 

The AuthorSo 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I The Elements of Advertising 9 

II Publicity, "Good Will," or "Institutional" Adver- 
tising 16 

1. The Part Played by Illustrations 

2. The "Slogan" 

3. Trademarks 

III Direct Advertising 34 

1. Analyzing the Article to Be Advertised 

2. Analyzing the Market 

3. "Style" in the Copy 

IV The Advertisement Itself as a Whole 68 

V The Kinds of Copy 87 

1. "Reason Why" Copy 

2. "Human Interest" Copy 

VI The Separate Elements of the Advertisement 109 

1. The Proper Sequence of the Elements 

2. The Headline 

3. The Body of the Advertisement 

4. The Close 

VII Commercial Literature for Advertising Purposes. .136 

1. The Circular, or Booklet 

2. The "Stuffer," or Small Folder 

Index 151 



BETTER ADVERTISING 



CHAPTER I 

THE ELEMENTS OF ADVERTISING 

Fundamentally, the object aimed at in advertising 
is to set in motion the interest and the imagination of 
the reader, so as to bring him to the successive stages 
of: (1) interest in the article advertised; (2) desire 
for it; (3) decision to buy it; (4) action, i. e., actually 
buying. Successful advertising is successful only through 
accomplishing these ends. 

Good advertising is, in plain words, the outcome of 
the ability successfully to take advantage of, or to adapt 
one's appeal to, the prevailing and customary mental 
processes of a given class of persons. From the days 
of the first professional trader that ever lived down to 
the time of the latest representative of scientific sales- 
manship, it has been known that the successful sales- 
man must understand intimately the general laws of 
human nature and the special workings of the minds of 
the class or classes to whom he sells his goods. If this 
were not true, experience would count for nothing in 
salesmanship, and the first person picked up on the street 
could be sent out without training as a salesman. 

Until recent years, however, this general and special 

9 



10 BETTER ADVERTISING 

knowledge of human nature and of the workings of the 
human mind was acquired unsystematically and often 
only half-consciously by individuals who, in many cases, 
were so little aware of the knowledge that they pos- 
sessed that they could not have told how they secured 
results or have given any effective training or advice 
to a beginner. 

Of recent years efforts have been made to collect and 
arrange systematically the facts and principles of human 
thought and feeling that are concerned in buying, and 
to express them simply and intelligibly. This systematic 
knowledge is now commonly known as the psychology 
of salesmanship. For the sake of brevity we shall use 
the term psychology to cover these ascertained facts and 
principles, as we refer to them in the succeeding pages. 

What the mental processes of a certain class are likely 
to be is taught us by psychology. And since a knowl- 
edge of the mental processes of those to whom we would 
sell something is the only means of determining how bes-t ^ 
to present the subject in a convincing and persuasive 
manner, it follows that all successful salesmen carry 
on their work with the laws of psychology as a basis. 
Whether they do this instinctively or as a result of an 
acquired knowledge is not material to this discussion. 
But it is true, nevertheless, that psychology, which people 
refer to either derisively or mysteriously, according to 
the views they hold about it, should as a matter of fact 
be to the business man — and especially to the adver- 
tising man — tlte science, par excellence, which he ought 
to study as a practical subject. He need not necessarily 
approach it as a "science," nor study the causes of 
the operation of the human mind, but what he should 
familiarize himself with is the result of the investigations 
which have already been conducted for him by scientists 



THE ELEMENTS OP ADVERTISING 11 

into the operation of the human mind. These will show 
him what may be relied on as the probable habitual 
mental reactions of given classes of human beings. If 
he knows these, he knows what particular class to appeal 
to when presenting any particular product through 
advertising, and from them, too, he learns what form his 
advertising appeal should take to be most effective. 
Knowing these facts, he has more than half the battle 
won in his attempt to produce good advertising copy. 

Most writers on the subject of advertising copy tell 
us in varying degrees of exhortation that, to be effective, 
advertising must have " punch." If this word is to 
be taken literally, then the advice is extremely mislead- 
ing and ineffective. A reader of advertising will rarely 
if ever be brought to the point of desiring to buy through 
being given a "punch," even though the "punch" be 
a mental one. Such advice is effective and to the point 
only when the word is given that other meaning which 
it possessed in the now past and nearly forgotten period 
when a "punch" represented a grateful and pleasing 
stimulant to the mental, if also to the physical, powers. 
Only in the sense of a mental stimulant is "punch" 
to be sanctioned in advertising. 

The advertising man who has a knowledge of the 
wants, the desires, the prejudices, the likes and dislikes, 
the vanities, the disposition to self-indulgence, etc., of 
those to whom he proposes to sell through advertising, 
and who can adapt his copy to such a knowledge, is 
the one who will sell. And since present-day advertis- 
ing methods are based largely on this sort of knowledge, 
we shall, as we proceed with our subject, draw largely 
on what has been taught us by practical psychology, 
without necessarily calling it by name. 

In order that what we have just said may not be 



12 BETTER ADVERTISING 

regarded as merely an abstract discussion ; in order that 
we may see how basically applicable to advertising are 
the teachings of psychology, let us consider one concrete 
and widely known example. There is probably no more 
favorably known advertisement than the familiar pic- 
ture of a terrier with his head expectantly tilted toward 
the phonograph in which he hears "his master's voice." 

Now, psychology teaches us that under certain con- 
ditions the use of imagery carries an appeal that mere 
logical argument could never achieve. Imagery may be 
resorted to by means of either pictures or words. In 
the case mentioned, the picture, accompanied by only 
the very briefest words of explanation, achieves its pur- 
pose by stimulating the imagination and, almost uncon- 
sciously, giving rise to desire. Word pictures can be 
made equally effective. But one must know when to use 
them, how to paint them, and particularly, whom to 
address them to. This may all be gathered from what 
psychology has taught us. 

What follows, therefore, is built on the foundation 
of the teachings of psychology. Reference will seldom 
be made to it, as such; but it may positively be said 
that few rules could be given that would be of advantage 
to the student of advertising methods if it were not 
for what psychology, formal or informal, has taught. 

But a mere abstract knowledge of the principles taught 
us by psychology will not suffice to make a writer of 
good advertising copy. He must be a salesman as well. 
And the salesman is one who has personality and who 
carries his personality into his sales talk. 

Advertising is ' ' sales talk ' ' reduced to type. Scientific 
principles must underlie any kind of successful sales 
talk, but — and this is the important feature — the per- 
sonality of the talker envelops the scientific features 



THE ELEMENTS OF ADVERTISING 13 

with his magnetism and personal qualities, his persua- 
siveness, his knowledge of his subject, his very manners, 
even. His talk is not cold and formal, but sincere and 
warm and winning — with the psychological ingredients 
so well mixed as to be invisible in the solution. 

Advertising copy, then, is not to be thought of as a 
mere formal announcement, not a mere listing of goods 
with prices attached, not even as a formal solicitation 
to buy, but as a talk from the prospective seller to the 
prospective customer. No matter how highly educated 
the seller may be, he does not talk to his customer in 
the formal language commonly called "rhetorical." 
He brings into his conversation all the elements that 
will make it interesting. He avoids anything but 
"homely" language, suited to the occasion. He talks, 
he does not "converse." So should advertising be — 
it must have the same warm elements of a conversation 
that draws and interests by being human. An attractive 
analysis of the proposition itself, accompanied by a 
common-sense appeal which is based on a thorough knowl- 
edge of the motives and instincts that actuate the aver- 
age purchaser — that is the secret of good advertising. 

In the course of what follows, we shall have occasion 
to stress a good many principles which determine the 
tone of the advertisement and the nature of its appeal. 
Some of these may seem to be abstract and even technical. 
Inasmuch as advertising is a science — or rather the prac- 
tical application of principles derived from various 
sciences — it is unavoidable that abstract principles should 
be enunciated and referred to. But while studying the 
abstract principles involved it is most necessary that 
the student should not lose sight of the human element 
needed in advertising, which it is indispensable to know 
and to know thoroughly. 



14 BETTER ADVERTISING 

If it is borne in mind, therefore, that advertising is 
— or should be — literally a sales talk (see, for example, 
the argumentative "talk" in Fig. 2, or the "narrative" 
example in Fig. 10), and that all successful salesmen 
are successful because their methods are regulated by 
well-known and well-established principles, the unavoid- 
able discussion of principles included in what follows 
will not repel the reader who believes in practicalities 
rather than in abstractions. With a thorough knowl- 
edge of principles, one may confidently construct the 
framework on which may later be hung all the attrac- 
tive garments that belong to one's verbal wardrobe. 

It has been forcefully said that it is the business of 
the copy-writer to attract the attention of the reader 
away from the main body of reading-matter in a maga- 
zine or newspaper and to divert it to his own message. 
In any event, the copy-writer must consider himself as 
competing with the story-writer or the news-writer for 
the reader's attention. To be able to do this success- 
fully, he must have at his command a skill combining 
that of the trained writer, of the psychologist, of the 
salesman, and of the artist, even though he may not 
realize that he is employing these qualities. In the 
course of his work, either consciously or instinctively, 
he must be able to avail himself of qualities and of prin- 
ciples drawn from each of these fields. To call some 
of the involved qualities psychological, and others lit- 
erary, etc., would be of no practical value. We can 
afford to ignore abstract terms in working out what fol- 
lows. If we know how to make advertising effective, 
nothing else matters. We propose, therefore, to brush 
aside all unnecessary technicalities, and to get down 
at once to the root of the subject in a practical manner. 

In what follows, we shall use the term " advertising' ' 



THE ELEMENTS OF ADVERTISING 15 

to cover all branches of the subject, including copy for 
actual advertisements in newspapers, magazines, trade 
journals, etc., as well as for pamphlets, circulars, folders, 
dodgers, "stuffers," etc. Basic principles underlying 
all classes of advertising will first be discussed, to be 
followed later by various suggestions applicable to spe- 
cific lines. 

For our present purposes we shall consider adver- 
tising as falling within two great general classes: (1) 
"good will" or "publicity" advertising, sometimes also 
called "institutional" advertising; (2) "direct" adver- 
tising, i. e., advertising which appeals directly to the 
purchaser with the object of eliciting orders from the 
purchaser to the advertiser directly and more or less 
immediately. These two classes will now be considered 
in the order mentioned. 



CHAPTER II 

"GOOD WILL," "PUBLICITY," OR "INSTITU- 
TIONAL" ADVERTISING 

Comparatively little need be said about the first classi- 
fication mentioned at the end of the preceding chapter. 
By the terms "good will," "publicity," or "institu- 
tional" advertising is meant that class of advertising 
that has for its principal object the making of an impres- 
sion on the public consciousness, the association of a 
name with a special product, so that when the product 
is thought of, the name suggests itself to the memory, 
or vice versa. 

"Good will" or "publicity" advertising, as the names 
suggest, is the kind of advertising that achieves for 
a name or for a product a notoriety which is intended, 
of course, to grow into public "good will" as well. It 
attains "publicity" for whatever is advertised, not by 
urging immediate purchases, but by establishing such 
a familiar knowledge of the thing advertised that the 
public instinctively recalls the particular product adver- 
tised when it is in need of an article of the kind named 
in the "publicity" advertising. 

It is because so many institutions — that is, concerns 
so large that their market is national in scope — utilize 
this form of advertising that it is termed "institutional." 
This has the same meaning, so far as designating the 
kind of advertising is concerned, as the other two names 

16 



"PUBLICITY" ADVERTISING 17 

have. Hence they are all three placed at the head of 
this chapter, as referring to the same thing. 

Strictly speaking, this sort of advertising makes little 
if any appeal to the human emotions or instincts with 
a view to inducing immediate action by the reader, 
such as will result in his making an immediate single 
purchase, or in his signing and forwarding an order at 
once. It has not for its object the leading of the reader 
up to the point of making an immediate response. It 
seeks, rather, to create a reputation or to establish a 
name, either of the concern or of the product, or of 
both. Its effect is that of a constant hammering at the 
ioor of the public consciousness, which is intended to 
gain recognition of a habitual sort through its persist- 
ence, with the result that the memory of the reading 
public is unconsciously impressed with the name of the 
product or of the maker, and that this memory impres- 
sion can be counted on to "suggest" action when the 
occasion for buying arises; to "suggest" through men- 
tal association the superiority of the advertised product 
over the other kinds which are not given such ' ' pub- 
licity"; and to give the- name the enviable position of 
'household word" through frequent reiteration. 

1. THE PART PLAYED BY ILLUSTRATIONS 

There are, of course, various ways in which 
good will" advertising goes about accomplishing the 
bjects mentioned. The commonest method, perhaps, is 
hat of making an illustration the outstanding feature 
>f the advertisement. When this is the case, the tend- 
ency is to rely on the " associationaP ' influence of the 
llustration, and to make use of but very little reading 
natter along with it. The name of the product, pos- 



18 



BETTER ADVERTISING 




Big and Little Exchanges 

AS a telephone system grows, the cost 
A\ per telephone for operation and main- 
tenance increases. 

When a system has few subscribers, con- 
versations are few and operating costs are 
low. Subscribers are grouped around the 
central office and lines are shorter and less 
expensive to build, line troubles are fewer 
and maintenance easier. 

As subscribers increase, each telephone 
user can talk to an ever widening circle of 
friends and business associates. Operating 
costs per telephone grow as more frequent 
talks are held. Subscribers' lines begin to 
run farther and ever farther from the ex- 
change until a big percentage of them are 
miles in length, expensive to build and in- 
creasingly expensive to maintain. 

The simple central office equipment must 
give place to more intricate and costly ap- 

Earatus. Expensive underground cable must, 
e laid, and aerial cable replace open wires. 
All along the line expense grows as the 
scope of the service broadens. 

ILLINOIS BELL TELEPHONE COMPANY 



Fig. 1. — This is strictly "good will" advertising, in its appeal 
to the mass, and in the absence of any direct attempt to sell. 



"PUBLICITY" ADVERTISING 19 

sibly the trademark, with the name and address of the 
manufacturer, may be all that is attached to the pic- 
ture. Whatever is done in this particular, however, the 
picture is relied on as the main feature of the adver- 
tisement. Illustrations of this sort of advertising are 
to be met with on every hand. Among the best-known 
series of advertisements of this class of "good will" or 
"publicity" advertising may be mentioned those of 
Cream of Wheat, which consists of illustrations con- 
taining little else than an attractive picture which always 
embodies the same idea, accompanied only by the name 
of the product and a short legend for the picture itself. 
These serve in a most effective manner to keep the name 
of the product before the public. But they do not sug- 
gest an immediate purchase. Their object, rather, is 
to establish the product in the public consciousness as 
the product to be bought when any product of this 
nature is desired. And this is accomplished by giving 
"publicity" to the name of the product in a manner 
which attracts interested attention, and through this 
means fixes the name in the public consciousness. 

For many years the advertisements of Royal Baking 
Powder appeared as regularly and almost as generally 
as newspapers themselves. There was little else in them 
but the name. But they served their purpose effectively 
—they kept the name of the product before the public 
by means which the public eye could not avoid. The 
result was that when the public asked itself, "What 
baking powder ought I to buy?" the answer uncon- 
sciously suggested itself from association and memory: 
"Why, Royal Baking Powder, of course." And so the 
object of the manufacturer was achieved by the method 
of giving prominent and constant publicity to a name. 

There are, of course, many gradations in the scale 



20 



BETTER ADVERTISING 



of publicity advertising. From the scientific use made 
of association, memory, habit, in the two prominent cases 
just mentioned, down to the commonplace announcement 
made by John Jones, the country dealer in "General 
Merchandise," the object is, not so much to attract 




&AKJN* 



POWDER 

Absolutely Pure 

Made from Cream of Tartar 

the customer through the suggestion of an immediate 
purchase of a specific article, as to educate him into 
a habit which is to become established through mental 
association and through memory, assisted by constant 
repetition of the advertisement. 



"PUBLICITY" ADVERTISING 



21 



Gasoline "What," asked a customer recently, "has caused the 

sharp advance in the price of gasoline?" And our 
Prices answer was substantially as follows: 

r OllOW The advances in the selling price of gasoline which 

Crude have occurred since January 1st, were due primarily 

to the increased cost of crude oil. The market on 
all grades of crude took an upward trend during the 
latter part of 1919, and has been climbing steadily 
since that time. 

During 1919 gasoline prices remained stationary, the 
refiners absorbing the increased cost of crude as long 
as it was possible to do so. In January, 1920, gaso- 
line prices generally were advanced to meet the in- 
creasing cost of raw material. 

Another factor was the practical exhaustion of gaso- 
line reserves brought about by the unprecedented 
demands for this fuel. During the first months of 
this year the consumption of gasoline greatly ex- 
ceeded production. 

But the primary reason was the constantly increas- 
ing price of crude oil. 

Still other reasons for the mounting prices are the 
greatly increased cost of labor, of steel, and of other 
items used in manufacture ; also the constantly ad- 
vancing cost of marketing and distribution. Every- 
thing that goes into the refining of petroleum is very 
expensive today. 

But the primary and controlling reason is found in 
the increasing cost of crude. 

In keeping with its well-known policy, the Standard 
Oil Company (Indiana) has been able to maintain 
low prices for gasoline in the face of advancing prices 
for crude oil because of its large scale operation in 
refining, and its complete and economical system of 
distribution. And, also, because of its advanced 
facilities for obtaining a maximum quantity of gaso- 
line from a given quantity of crude. 

The Middle West depends largely upon gasoline 
power for producing food stuffs. 

The Standard Oil Company (Indiana) is straining 
every fiber of its highly specialized organization to 
meet this demand. 

STANDARD OIL COMPANY 

(Indiana) 

910 So. Michigan Ave. Chicago, 111. 

Fig. 2. — Institutional advertising- of the argumentative style, 
constituting propaganda advertising, with no sales appeal other 
than to reason. (See p. 79.) 



22 BETTER ADVERTISING 

Psychology is at the back of this practice and of the 
idea itself. "Publicity" of this sort establishes mental 
images and reactions, so that when the need for an 
article arises the product in question or the name of the 
manufacturer in question is suggested to the mind of 
the prospective purchaser with the accompanying feel- 
ings of "good will." This is the result of the operation 
of what is known as "the law of association," and the 
operation of the law is invoked by the advertiser through 
a stored-up mental impression created by his "publicity" 
advertising. 

In this connection, memory is, of course, an important 
element. Whatever aids the memory of the reader aids 
the advertiser. Psychology has established the fact that 
visual images — pictures — have the highest memory value, 
in the sense that they serve to recall to the mind the 
subject they advertise three times more readily than 
do words. One recalls Cream of Wheat by associat- 
ing the name of the product with the memory of the 
smiling colored chef of the pictures, with his bowl of 
food ready to serve. 

Hence, as an example of the operation of this law, 
we have a series of mental processes, which — using the 
Cream of Wheat illustration as an example — may be 
described as follows: 

1. A new supply of breakfast food is needed. 

2. The question arises, what brand shall be ordered. 

3. Through association of ideas and recall of mental impres- 

sions created by the pictures one has seen, the name 
"Cream of Wheat" suggests itself immediately as the 
natural answer to the question. 

4. As a result of this operation of the law of association, 

one almost unconsciously decides to procure this brand. 

5. Buying action follows, and this, in all probability, will 

become more or less habitual, because the constantly 
appearing advertisements serve to renew these mental 



"PUBLICITY" ADVERTISING 23 

processes whenever new buying is necessary. This is 
the result aimed at by "publicity" advertising. 

It must not be understood, however, that this class 
of advertising is confined to the methods just discussed. 
Eesults of the same nature are to be achieved by cir- 
culars, and other independent printed matter, by signs, 
sign boards, posters, and by a multiplicity of other 
devices. In all such advertising, however, it is the pic- 
ture that should be suggestive — the smaller text may 
devote itself to argument or persuasion. 

Propaganda Advertising. — A special form of institu- 
tional advertising that has been developed of late under* 
the influence of the Excess Profits Tax law is what has 
been termed "propaganda advertising." Figure 2 on 
page 21 serves to illustrate this. The object of this 
sort of advertising propaganda is, not directly to effect 
the sale of goods, but primarily — and literally — to create 
good will. It is carried on with a view to disarming 
public criticism of the advertiser by presenting facts 
or figures showing that he is conducting his business 
fairly, with an absence of profiteering, and with pro- 
gressiveness, enterprise, or some other desirable quality 
that entitles him to the support or confidence of the 
public. 

Inasmuch as it must be assumed that the reading 
public is not directly or actively interested in the facts 
themselves to which the advertiser desires to give pub- 
licity, it is usually true that advertising of this sort 
is characterized by some device intended to attract the 
eye and to secure attention — a highly desirable and nec- 
essary element in any form of advertising. Notice how 
this element is injected into Fig. 2 by means of the iso- 
lated headline and the narrow-columned text with the 
white margin all on one side. The text of the adver- 



24 



BETTER ADVERTISING 




Pig. 3. — Publicity advertising-, relying solely on illustration 
and name of product. Note, however, how closely they are 
"tied" by the relevancy of the picture. (See pp. 17, 29.) 



"PUBLICITY" ADVERTISING 25 

tisement itself is palpably designed to create a good 
impression on the mind and to win over the reader to 
an attitude of mind favorable to the advertiser. 

In the end, of course, the real object of this sort of 
advertising is to promote the trade of the advertiser, not 
directly, but as a result of the good will which it seeks 
to create. And this is the ultimate object of most 
publicity advertising. 

The Comic Advertisement. — The comic advertisement, 
pure and simple, is a form of publicity advertising that 
is, in general, to be condemned. Its results are extremely 
uncertain, and it often operates rather to create irrita- 
tion and contempt than to awaken interest. 

Nevertheless, two of the most successful series of adver- 
tisements ever developed in this country were comics 
— the series advertising the Gold Dust Twins and that 
exploiting Zu Zu cakes. The appeal to the comic sense 
was also a prominent element in the long series of street- 
car pictures and rhymed jingles which celebrated "Spot- 
less Town" in the interest of a well-known cleanser. 
And most successful of all, perhaps, has been the comic 
"electric light movie" of the Old Dutch Cleanser. 

Close analysis of these and other successful comics 
shows, however, several important facts: 

1. That the comic element is usually relied upon, not 
to sell the goods, but only- to establish quickly and per- 
manently an association of a certain name with a certain 
class of goods — for example, Zu Zu with small cakes. 

2. That where the comic element is associated with 
any selling motive, that motive is usually emphasized 
in some other way — for example, in the Gold Dust Twins 
pictures with the slogan, "Let the Gold Dust Twins 
do the work!" and in the case of the Old Dutch Cleanser 
with, "It chases the dirt!" 






26 BETTER ADVERTISING 

3. That a comic that is not relevant, or one that fails 
to assist in recalling the precise name of the product 
is of doubtful value — for example: How many of the 
thousands who saw day after day for years the street- 
car pictures of the flock of geese advertising Omega 
Oil ever knew or stopped to think what geese had to 
do with oil, or could remember this name when an oil 
was needed? Or again, of the thousands who could 
recall at least bits of the jingles about Spotless Town, 
how many could recall what made it spotless? 

4. In no case, perhaps, has a comic been successful 
by connecting a ridiculous idea with a product. The 
most amusing picture of this class that comes readily 
to mind is that- used several years ago by Pears' Soap, 
showing an unshaven and unwashed tramp writing a 
testimonial: "I used your soap three years ago, and 
have used no other since." As a comic picture this 
ranked very high indeed, but as an advertisement its 
value is questionable. 

5. Few comics can be used as permanent advertise- 
ments. A familiar comic is like a familiar joke, amus- 
ing only to the joker. But a certain amount of perma- 
nency or stability is necessary to establish a fixed con- 
nection between "name" and "product," and this the 
comic does not possess. 

In its proper place, picture advertising is, as we have 
just shown, a most effective medium of appeal to atten- 
tion and to memory. But, as we have also shown, the 
illustration must be pertinent and relevant. Comic 
pictures can rarely be made so pertinent to the product 
advertised as to give rise to any direct train of thought 
between the subject of the picture and the product 
advertised. 

One of the elementary principles in advertising that 



"PUBLICITY" ADVERTISING 



27 




Fig. 4. — A dangerous form of advertising 1 . The connection 
between a "comic" situation and the commodity advertised is 
remote and the subjects are scarcely relevant. (See p. 26.) 



28 BETTER ADVERTISING 

psychology has taught us is that the arresting of atten- 
tion and the development of interest from the attention 
must be logical, and must entail as little conscious exer- 
cise of mental exertion as possible. Comic illustrations 
can rarely serve to establish a direct connection of 
thought, and hence results from their use are distinctly 
precarious. A series of "comics" may sometimes serve 
to awaken an interest in the series as comics, but unless 
they .are subtle as well as comic, their use is attended 
with the risk that the reader will confine his interest to 
the comic idea embodied in them, and will forget entirely 
the advertising which they are intended to embody. A 
business advertisement must be conceived of as a busi- 
ness talk, and hence anything that descends to the level 
of familiarity, buffoonery or cheap humor is as risky in 
its effect on the mind as is an action of the same char- 
acter in business life. 

Since "good will" advertising does not usually aim 
for immediate or single and specific results so much 
as it does for habitual and general results, it involves 
a course of advertising which runs for a considerable 
period and with persistent regularity. Its results are, 
of course, of a more or less permanent nature, since 
they are habitual in character. The psychological appeal 
here rests on a different plane from that involved in 
"direct" advertising, since in the former the appeal 
is to the mass, while in the latter it is, as we shall see 
later, directed to the individual or, at most, to a specific 
class of persons. 

For this reason, it is desirable in publicity advertis- 
ing to say as little as circumstances will permit. ^ A 
brief sentence or two, seen day after day, will sink into 
the mental consciousness, to be evoked by memory when 
association demands it. The mind is not readily recep- 



"PUBLICITY" ADVERTISING 29 

tive to a mass of words, or to a combination of different 
ideas presented at the same time. A single idea, expressed 
in few words, may be said, therefore, to be the chief 
requirement of this class of advertising. The picture 
advertisements of Cream of Wheat serve again to illus- 
trate this principle. Illustrations, however, must be 
appropriate. The connection between the idea of the 
picture and the product must be direct, without entail- 
ing any remote reasoning, otherwise an illustration is 
merely so much wasted space. Judged by these stand- 
ards, the strongest publicity advertisement is that which 
says least and which employs the picture method of 
conveying ideas and of doing its talking. There are, 
of course, many products which cannot well be adver- 
tised by means of illustrations. But in these cases, too, 
where publicity is aimed at, or "good will" is sought 
to be established, the principle of few sentences should 
still govern the advertisement. 

If, then, these general principles are kept in mind, 
the more detailed principles discussed in the succeed- 
ing chapters in connection with "direct" advertising 
will be found to have their bearing on "publicity" 
advertising as well, although in a restricted sense, because 
of the very nature of the latter. 

2. THE SLOGAN 

An extremely useful and effective element in publicity 
advertising is the "slogan." This is a phrase, a saying, 
even a single word, that may be described as the "motto" 
of the advertiser, and that is always used, and adver- 
tised continually, in connection with a single, specific 
product. Examples of these are: 

"As Strong as Gibraltar," adopted by the Prudential 
Insurance Company. 



SO BETTER ADVERTISING 

"Hasn't Scratched Yet," used with advertisements 
of Bon Ami. 

"From Contented Cows," advertising a brand of evap- 
orated milk. 

' ' Don 't Be a Washing Machine — Buy One ! ' ' serving 
to call attention to a washing machine. 

"There's a Reason," used in connection with Postum 
Cereal. 

"Sealed Tight, Kept Right," seen in advertisements 
of Wrigley's Chewing Gum. 

"His Master's Voice," advertising Victrolas. 

These will serve as examples of how a ' ' slogan ' ' which 
has been wisely chosen in the first place and which is 
persistently and widely advertised can be made to recall 
to the mind of the reader the product with which it is 
associated. Such "slogans" form a most valuable asset 
and serve to increase publicity in an extraordinary 
manner. They are, as a rule, serviceable with publicity 
advertising only, since they can rarely be used to add 
to the force of the direct sales appeal. 

The only rule that can be laid down as affecting their 
choice and adoption is that they must be pertinent, i. e. y 
there must be a direct association between the idea of the 
product and the idea conveyed by the slogan. Happily 
chosen, the slogan survives and is effective in promoting 
publicity. Unless the law of pertinency is observed, 
however, the slogan is sure to prove ineffective, and is 
equally sure to die. 

3. TRADEMARKS 

Trademarks constitute an element in publicity or in- 
stitutional advertising that possesses a distinct value. 
This lies in the way they contribute to the creation of 
vivid and permanent impressions in connection with the 



"PUBLICITY" ADVERTISING 31 

product advertised. They come under the psychological 
law referred to above in this chapter, that pictures 
create an impression on the mind that is more lasting as 
well as more easily recalled than is that created by 
words. Hence trademarks aid in recalling to the mind 
of the reader the goods they represent, the product with 
which they are identified in his mind. Thus they add to 
the publicity value of an advertisement, although it 
cannot, perhaps, be said that they contribute much to 
the appeal itself of direct advertising. Their value, of 
course, increases with time and with constant use. They 
are primarily useful in publicity or "good will" adver- 
tising, and their value in direct advertising is usually 
associational. 

Long-continued and judicious use serves sometimes 
to give to trademarks an immense trade value. How- 
ever, since this book is limited to the subject of written 
advertising copy, it would, for obvious reasons, be use- 
less to go into the question of what features should be 
included in the make-up of a trademark. 

The principal difference between what we have called 
the "associational" value of pictures on the one hand, 
and of slogans and trademarks on the other, lies in the 
fact that the latter two must first become established 
and recognized through long use and publicity. Neither 
a trademark nor a slogan, on its early appearance, is 
calculated to make as strong (an impression on, the 
memory as does an effective and pertinent picture. After 
a frequent and continued use, however, both slogan and 
trademark may attain to the same value and effectiveness 
as those possessed by pictures ; and either one of them 
will then serve for achieving the same end, namely, that 
of recalling to the mind the product with which they 
have become associated. 



32 BETTER ADVERTISING 

With the reservation mentioned then, pictures, slo- 
gans, and trademarks all come under the general law 
that a simple object — one whose characteristic features 
impress themselves on the mind at a single glance— 1 
makes a deeper, more permanent, and more easily re- 
called impression than a more complicated object or a 
lengthy written description. 

The difference actually existing between "institu- 
tional" advertising and "direct" advertising (which is 
discussed in the succeeding chapters) consists in many 
cases more in intention than in fact, Stated conversely, 
indeed, it may be said that the majority of advertising 
is more or less institutional in effect, even if not in in- 
tention. This is due to the fact that however ephemeral 
a given advertisement may be in respect to its apparent 
effect, it serves nevertheless to advertise the house or 
firm— the "institution" — in addition to the goods that 
it offers. This latter element is unconscious in its 
operation, but in a greater or less degree its effect 
persists. 

Thus the advertisements of large department stores 
serve to remind the public of the fact that the store has 
other goods for sale as well as those described in the 
advertisement. So also almost any advertisement offer- 
ing specific articles carries with it the implication that 
the advertiser deals in goods of the same general class 
as those specifically mentioned. This implication, con- 
sciously or unconsciously accepted by readers of the 
advertisement, is the "good will" or "institutional" 
element in almost all advertising. 

In the charts on pp. 70-71, the uses of which are dis- 
cussed on pp. 68-79, the terms "publicity" and "good 
will" advertising are used as embracing the entire cate- 
gory of advertising discussed in this chapter. On pp. 42, 



"PUBLICITY" ADVERTISING 33 

43, certain buying motives are referred to as the motives 
to which the principal appeal is to be addressed in a 
given case. Publicity advertising may, of course, be 
made to appeal to any specific buying motives, always 
bearing in mind, however, that this class of advertising 
is primarily educational in character, and is intended 
to secure permanent rather than immediate results. A 
reference to the lists given on pp. 42, 43 will help to make 
this clearer at this stage. 



CHAPTER III 
DIRECT ADVERTISING 

As the term implies, "direct" advertising is the form 
of advertising which embodies an appeal made directly 
to a more or less specific class of customers, or buyers, 
rather than to the mass. It has as its object that of 
effecting "direct" sales, in contradistinction to "pub- 
licity" or "institutional" advertising, already dis- 
cussed. It is the vehicle through which a specific ar- 
ticle or a class of products is offered with the object of 
creating an immediate and impelling desire in the mind 
of the reader, and of inducing the direct and immediate 
action of buying. 

For the present, we have disposed of the subject of 
"publicity" or "good will" or "institutional" adver- 
tising. Hence in what follows we shall use the term 
"advertising" in a general sense, in discussing the 
principles underlying "direct" advertising. Our first 
concern is now with the questions, "What is the method 
by which to determine how best to appeal to the pros- 
pective market in order to sell a given product? and 
What is the method by which to determine the proper 
tone to give to the advertising through which such an 
appeal is made? 

This is no haphazard affair. As was said in Chapter 
I, the successful writer of advertising copy must be 
able to apply certain recognized principles, which involve 

34 



DIRECT ADVERTISING 35 

a wide and accurate knowledge of human nature, and 
are governed by a variety of conditions. We shall con- 
sider all these in their turn. The matter is much simpler 
than it sounds, and our present subject need not be 
approached with misgiving. 

It may surprise the reader — it may even sound hereti- 
cal — to say that the actual ivritmg of advertising copy 
is, after all, the last, and perhaps, even, one of the lesser 
parts of the whole subject. Before the stage is reached 
where one sits down to put into words the appeal that is 
to make customers out of readers, there is a stage of 
mental preparation — of actual self-education — to be 
gone through in connection with each advertising cam- 
paign that is of the first importance in determining the 
definite nature of the copy to be written. 

Those w T ho know tell us that the visible portion of an 
iceberg is but one-third of the whole ; that the part ex- 
posed is supported by twice its bulk below the water's 
surface. The simile of the iceberg may be applied illu- 
minatingly to the subject of advertising. The finished 
copy, the visible advertising itself, is supported by two 
other elements that are not apparent to the buying 
public. Without them, however, advertising would not 
be the methodical, well-designed thing that it is. These 
invisible elements are (1) the analysis of the product, 
and (2) the analysis of the market. 

Advertising, then, in its finished form involves three 
elements: (1) a thorough knowledge by the copy- 
writer of the outstanding features as well as the various 
uses of the article to be advertised; (2) a thorough and 
sympathetic analysis of the buying motives of those to 
whom the advertising appeal is to be addressed; (3) 
the translation of the conclusions reached from both 
analyses into the appeal itself, that is, the formulation 



36 BETTEK ADVERTISING 

of the advertising copy — -the written material, which is 
all that the public sees. A thorough grasp of the prin- 
ciples involved in these three points will result in a 
mastery of all there is to be learned about the theory of 
advertising. l ' On these three hang all the Law and the 
Prophets. ' ' "We shall now consider each one in its order. 

1. ANALYZING THE ARTICLE TO BE ADVERTISED 

Successful advertising consists in making the right 
appeal to the minds and to the emotions and the instincts 
of the right people. But before one can appeal success- 
fully to others, one must first have felt the force of the 
appeal one J s self. This means that the thing to be ad- 
vertised, whether it be a single article or an entire line, 
must be understood to the last small detail before it can 
successfully be offered to others through advertising. It 
means still more. It means that the writer must first be 
saturated with a knowledge of the features which serve 
to commend the article ; must himself be impressed with 
its merits; must so have visualized its possibilities and 
its virtues, and the various uses to which it may be put, 
under various conditions, as to permit of conveying to 
his written copy — and through it to the mind of the 
reader — the contagion of personal conviction already 
existing in the mind of the writer. 

A line of brushes, for example, does not, on first 
thoughts, suggest itself as anything over which to grow 
enthusiastic. A brush is one of a good many articles 
that are required for household uses. But is that all? 
Not to the writer with imagination, backed with knowl- 
edge about his brushes. He visualizes the woman whose 
hair is her glory, as needing a special kind of brush for 
the scalp, another and totally different kind for smooth- 
ing out the long, glistening strands so that they show 



DIRECT ADVERTISING 37 

themselves glossy with hair-health. He has in mind 
the soft brush which the mother demands for the baby's 
tender head. He draws a word-picture of the housewife 
who spends time and effort in the continuous fight 
against household dirt, and shows how his specially made 
brush is specially fitted for the work of cleansing sink 
and floor and woodwork, and thus is an instrument de- 
signed to lighten her burdens. If he knows his subject 
and knows his market, as well, he will be able to write 
vivid word-pictures that will elevate the prosaic brush 
into a subject demanding the interested attention of 
many different classes of persons. He will, in other 
words, pass on the contagion of his personal conviction 
to others through his copy. 

By this it is not meant to imply that the advertising 
writer must be emotional in his convictions or in his 
language. But before he can write effectively, before 
his words can help to shape the convictions of others, he 
must have convictions of his own, and these must come 
from the most thorough familiarity with the article to 
be advertised, and more particularly with the various 
ways in which its several uses can be made to appeal to 
the different users. With this as a background, the 
first step will have been taken toward determining in- 
telligently the kind of advertising that should be 
written ; the tone to be used in the writing ; and, above 
all, what to say about the product to the particular class 
one is appealing to. 

In this branch of the examination there are two im- 
portant principles to be borne in mind. These are : 

(1) Advertising based on meager and incomplete 
knowledge of the product to be offered will never be 
completely successful, and is not likely to be even 
partially successful, except by accident. 



38 BETTER ADVERTISING 

(2) Untruths and half-truths are costly. The only 
really effective advertising is the truth. From this it 
follows that to be able to tell the truth effectively one 
must know one's subject "inside and out," and must 
be enthusiastically sure of one's facts. 

The first step in advertising, then, is to acquire a 
complete and thorough familiarity with the product 
to be offered, with the ensuing vizualization of the 
strong points that will commend it to prospective buy- 
ers, and of the various uses to which different sorts oil 
persons can put it. 

2. ANALYZING THE MARKET 

After one has familiarized himself with the product 
to be advertised, one is in a position to think next of 
the class to which the advertising appeal is to be di- 
rected. In other words, one has next to decide what 
sorts of people are likely to be the ones to buy the 
product in question. Obviously, there are a great many 
products that can be offered to different classes of 
users or consumers, but on different grounds or on 
different sales arguments. Cigars, for instance, are 
offered to men for their consumption; they are offered 
to women as gifts for men — but the sales arguments in 
the two cases are different. The wise advertiser rec- 
ognizes that he cannot attract the whole community 
through one class of advertisement. He therefore 
addresses himself to one specific class at a time, and 
so shapes his appeal as to make it most effective to that 
one class. 

It will be clear, also, that an article that con- 
tributes solely to the comfort or the luxury of con- 
sumers will appeal in the main to a class of people 
different from that to which such articles as horseshoes 



DIRECT ADVERTISING 39 

or picks and shovels would be offered. It will be equally 
clear that the patrons of the beauty shop and of its 
cosmetics consist of a group whose instincts and tastes 
differ from those whose minds are intent on the purchase 
of horseshoes. And the appeal which serves to sell the 
one would hardly be effective in creating a demand for 
the other. Thus the necessary " point of contact" on 
which to base the appeal is established by getting in 
touch with the mental attitude of the persons whose 
patronage you are seeking, and by talking to them 
through your copy in a manner calculated to make them 
buy. 

The illustrations just given are, of course, obvious 
ones. As a matter of fact, there are endless ramifica- 
tions and refinements of the principle involved in the 
contrast just mentioned. Each problem has its own 
peculiar conditions, of course, but each requires careful 
and intelligent analysis of the instincts and emotions of 
those who constitute the prospective market before one 
is in a position to think of writing appropriate copy. 
On the knowledge resulting from such an analysis 
depend the tone and the nature of the copy itself. 

The discussion, as far as it has gone, has therefore 
developed the following principles: 

(1) The class, or the several classes, of people who 
may. be considered potential buyers must be definitely 
analyzed, and the ^ typical characteristics and mental 
processes of each class must be ascertained. 

(2) These characteristics, mental reactions and 
tastes must be considered as sympathetically and as 
minutely as the product itself. 

(3) The "point of contact" for each class must be 
definitely deduced from the study. This is equivalent 
to saying that, knowing the features and details of the 



40 BETTER ADVERTISING 

product itself, and knowing the characteristics of each 
class to which it is to be offered, the advertising writer 
is in a position to formulate his several appeals so as to 
reach the sensibilities, excite the desire, or stimulate the 
demand of the different classes indicated by his examina- 
tion, and that the nature and form of the appeal depend 
on the conclusions reached from such an analysis. To 
state it plainly, one has to visualize one's self as if in 
conversation with the individual customer, and so to 
frame the copy as to fit the visualization. 

The second step, then, in advertising, is to acquire a 
comprehensive and sympathetic familiarity with the 
several elements of the market to which the appeal is to 
be addressed. It must be realized that the selling 
ability of the writer of copy is dependent on his ability 
to bring out that feature of the product that will most 
strongly appeal to the group to which his advertising is 
directed. And this is the same as saying that he who 
can awaken the interest and desire of his public, and 
can bring the public to the point of deciding to buy, 
is the one who has what is termed selling ability. It is 
a question, then, of studying one's prospective cus- 
tomers, and of giving them the right sort of appeal. 

Since the object of all advertising is to put in motion 
or to stimulate certain instincts in the mind of the 
reader (self-interest, desire, decision), and as these 
are, after all, ordinary human emotions, and since adver- 
tising is always an appeal to a group, it is well to bear 
in mind that a majority of persons in a given group may 
always be counted on to display the same general emo- 
tions, to possess the same sort of instincts, and to be open 
to the influence of substantially the same sort of appeal. 
Human instincts are fundamentally general, in the sense 
that they are shared by many persons alike. Advertis- 



DIRECT ADVERTISING 41 

ing skill lies in appealing to tlie ruling emotion that 
is common to the group to which the advertising is 
intended to appeal. 

Below have been grouped under six arbitrarily chosen 
terms most of the human instincts, motives, and emo- 
tions which play any part in the decision to buy. Any 
one or more of these that are appropriate to a typical 
member of a given class of persons may be regarded as 
being shared in common by that entire group of persons 
under ordinary conditions. The several elements which 
make up a community, when considered in the light of 
possible purchasers, that is to say, as a market for a 
commodity, can be counted on as being susceptible as 
a class to one or more of the instincts and motives named 
in this list. They embrace practically all those human 
instincts which lead to buying action, and, as such, 
they represent all the instincts which the copy-writer 
must review and take into account when endeavoring 
to analyze his prospective market. The arbitrarily chosen 
terms, numbered from 1 to 6 in the list, are used through- 
out this volume as comprehensive terms referring to the 
emotions enumerated under them. 

The classification here made is based, not upon psy- 
chological system, but solely upon practical convenience. 
It will, however, serve better than would a rigidly scien- 
tific classification to guide one in the work of analyzing 
the market with respect to the product to be offered, and 
of determining what must be the dominant tone of the 
copy in order that it shall appeal successfully to any 
given set of these instincts. That is to say, under one or 
another of the six arbitrary groupings will be found all 
of the related human instincts to which ordinary adver- 
tising is likely at any time to find it necessary to address 
itself. The list follows. 



42 BETTER ADVERTISING 

1. Desire for Gain 

This includes the emotions of: 
Money-saving instinct 
Money-getting instinct 
Speculation in its various degrees 
Acquisitiveness 

Ambition (of a certain nature) 
Desire for knowledge (as an end in itself, or as 

a means) 
Self-interest 

2. Caution 

This includes the emotions of: 

Desire to provide for the future 

Desire to protect those dependent on one 
(whether family or employees) against pov- 
erty, disease, pain, or mental distress 

Desire for health 

Forethought or foresight 

Fear 

Self-interest 

3. Utility 

Which includes the instincts of: 

Constructiveness 

Convenience 

Necessity 

Desire for time-saving, labor-saving, and health- 
promoting devices, and the enjoyment result- 
ing from any of these 

4. Self-Gratification 

"Which includes the instincts and emotions of: 
Self-indulgence 

Appetites and sense-pleasures 
Love of luxury or ease or comfort 
Vanity 



DIRECT ADVERTISING 43 

Pleasure 

Display 

Ornamentation 

Desire for personal adornment 

Striving to imitate others 

Sports and diversions 

Love of the arts 

Pride of possession 

5. Competition 

Which is inclusive of: 

Ambition (of a certain nature) 

Pride 

Emulation 

Coquetry 

Desire for skill in sports, trade, mechanics, etc. 

Desire for knowledge, progress, or improvement. 

6. Moral and Esthetic Instincts 
These are regarded as including: 

Love of beauty or convenience in the home. 

Desire for welfare and safety of others 

Hospitality and Sociability 

Cleanliness 

Religion 
Since the foregoing list is intended, not as a scientific 
classification, but as a ready source of practical sugges- 
tions, the buying motives are expressed by whatever 
terms seemed best suited to recall them readily — some- 
times by naming the emotions or instinct appealed to, 
sometimes by indicating the object or form of appeal. 

For similar practical reasons, motives which express 
themselves in human nature in more than one form are 
listed under more than one heading, since they seem to 
apply in each group. 

The list should be made use of in connection with 



44 BETTER ADVERTISING 

the various kinds of advertising copy listed on p. 79 
and also with the charts on pp. 70 and 71. This list 
of emotions, as well as the charts just referred to, will 
be discussed later. The use to which the list can be put 
in connection with the preparation of copy will appear 
in connection with its application to the charts, and in 
connection with the discussion of the various kinds of 
copy in Chapter V. It is sufficient to say at this point 
that reference is frequently made in the following pages 
to the emotions and instincts listed above, but that this is 
done by making use of the general terms numbered above 
from 1 to 6. For example, "Desire for Gain," when re- 
ferred to as such hereafter, will be understood as includ- 
ing any or all of the emotions or instincts listed under 
that term, and so with the others. 

"We shall show later how the appeal of the advertising 
copy may well be addressed to more than one of these 
emotions at the same time and in the same advertise- 
ment. And we shall also show — and this is the most 
important use of the foregoing list — what bearing an 
appeal to any of the emotions in the list has on the tone 
of the advertising copy itself. 

The list has been given at this point, rather than 
later on in connection with the charts just referred to, 
in order to show how much is involved in the task of 
determining with any degree of accuracy what is the 
true "point of contact" with the group or class to which 
the appeal is to be made. It involves reaching a correct 
answer to the question: What are the particular emo- 
tions or instincts which the copy-writer may assume to 
be common to the class of persons who constitute the 
prospective market for the product to be advertised? 
The ability to obtain the correct answer to this question 
depends on a proper use "of the analysis listed above, as 



DIRECT ADVERTISING 45 

PROFITS 

Your depreciation charges are as continuous 
as time and as sure as "death and taxes," if 
you handle corrosives with ordinary ap- 
paratus. 

This holds true whether it be an extremely 
violent, concentrated acid, or drain water 
that is only slightly impregnated. 

Duriron will put an end to your equipment 
losses, replacement costs, and impaired 
output. 

At the same time, with Duriron, you will 
have safer and cleaner plant conditions. 



For every process where acids and alkalis are 
used, there is Duriron apparatus that will make 
your investment permanent and profitable. 

TkeDuriroivCbmpaivy DaytoaOhio 

NEW YORK: 90 West St. 

CHICAGO: 110 So. Dearborn St. 

SAN FRANCISCO: Monadnock Bldg. 

Fig. 5. — Copy showing- a combined appeal to "Desire for Gain" 
and to "Caution." (See p. 42.) 



46 BETTER ADVERTISING 




<U > tn 3 

h ?T> 2 ° v 
3 2^ o g c 

£ a 

O rt 

03 P £ >> « 






Tl D >i «-h ■ M ^ aj i2 

s8s 5" 5 ag3 

<£ o a; ti 'S <u ^ o-j-a-Mrt Ej +3 — < 

^SSiiSSS^S 0.^^.815 5 



fl 



DIRECT ADVERTISING 47 

well as on other factors which will be discussed immedi- 
ately. The answer itself must form the basis for decision 
as to what shall be the prevailing tone of the advertising 
copy, while the charts on pp. 70-71 must determine the 
" style" and method of presentation. It need not be 
added that the success or failure of the entire advertising" 
plan will depend on the choice of the correct tone of the 
appeal. To this end the copy-writer is urged to famil- 
iarize himself with the lists given above. These, taken 
in connection with the charts to be referred to later, will 
be found to give a general answer to all these questions 
with surprising accuracy and to be an aid of the greatest 
possible value. 

Even when one is able to estimate the instincts to 
which one ought normally to appeal, a thorough under- 
standing of one's prospective market is of far greater 
importance than is usually recognized by advertisers. 
Too many copy-writers are " short on their facts," and 
write according to instinct or impulse. For instance in 
" flush" times, or in a community whose individual 
members happen to be earning liberal wages or salaries, 
it is a comparatively easy matter to effect sales through 
advertising. The reason is that the prospects have 
already acquired the spending habit, and, with money 
in their pockets, they are more or less ready to give to 
any advertiser a share of their free-spending patronage. 

But if money is not plentiful, if the market appealed 
to is not " flush," if, on the contrary, economy and hesi- 
tation have taken the place of liberal spending of money, 
the case for the advertiser is very different. He must 
know the conditions obtaining before he addresses his 
market— and he must adapt his appeal to the prevailing 
conditions. Shortly after the armistice in 1919, and for 
some little time thereafter, silk shirts at $18 apiece were 



48 



BETTER ADVERTISING 




If- 1 had onlg put on- 
11 WEED TIRE CHAINS 



In the interest of 
humanity — in the 
interest of safe 
and sane motoring 
Put on your Weed 
Tire Chains "at 
the first drop of 
rain, * ' and insist 
that others do the 
same. 




Regrets avail nothing when the harm is done. 
Many an accident might have been avoided 

and many a life saved if drivers of automobiles 
had only exercised ordinary, everyday pre- 
caution and had listened to the warnings which 
for years have been sounded through the mag- 
azines and daily newspapers, viz. — "Always put 
on Weed Tire Chains when the roads and 
pavements are wet and slippery." 
It's all very well to say, **I'm sorry— I didn't 
mean to do it." 

Regrets don't mend broken limbs 
or bring back the lives that have been taken. 
The innocent victims have suffered through no 
fault of their own while the careless motorist 
escapes with a reprimand, the payment of 
Doctor's bills and the expense of having his car 
repaired. Is there no way to make such . 
fellows realize their responsibility and have * 
more regard for the rights of others? 
Skidding accidents would never occur 
if every motorist exercised care in driving and 
put on Weed Tire Chains whenever roads and 
pavements were wet and slippery or covered 
with mud and slime. 

American Chain Co., Inc. 

BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT 

In Canada: Dominion Chain Company, Limited , 
Niagara Falls, Ontario 

Largest Chain Manufacturers in the World 

The Complete Chain Line — All Types, All 
Sizes, All Finishes— From Plumbers' Safety 

Chain to Ships' Anchor Chain 
General Sales Office: Gr. Cent. Ter., N. Y. C. 
DISTRICT SALES OFFICES:Boston,Chicago, 
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Port., Ore.. S.Francisco 




Fig. 7. — Copy appealing- to "Caution." (See p. 42.) 



DIRECT ADVERTISING 49 

freely and easily salable to persons who, five years 
before, hesitated and "shopped" over a shirt at $1.50 
or $2.00. These opposing conditions could never have 
been met by the same kind of advertising, although the 
identical persons were appealed to in each case. What 
is called "sales resistance" increases as money becomes 
scarce, and the science of advertising lies in being able 
to overcome it. Advertising is not achieving all it should 
achieve if it does not accomplish sales which amount to 
approximately the whole purchasing power of the mar- 
ket one has in view. In order to lay the foundation for 
such a result the copy-writer must know the existing 
conditions at the time of the proposed advertising cam- 
paign, and then he is in a position to decide what motives 
to appeal to tinder those conditions. 

But even after he has gained a basic familiarity with 
the product itself, as well as with the existing market 
conditions and with the psychological characteristics of 
the group constituting his prospective market, the copy- 
writer may yet fail to make his copy effective. If he 
lacks the "divine fire" of the instinctively capable 
writer, to which due training in the use of good English 
has been added ; if his style is heavy ; if he lacks a sense 
of clearness and proportion • if his copy is argumentative 
where it should be persuasive, analytical where it should 
be suggestive; if, in other words, he is not "human" in 
his tone, he still may fail to strike the correct note, he 
still may fail to touch the real "point of contact." 
Even though the charts referred to above may be made 
to serve as sign-posts to indicate the right road to be 
traversed, it is, nevertheless, "up to" the copy-writer, 
from that point on, to keep out of the ruts and out 
of the ditch. With all the basic principles established 
for his guidance — that is, a proper description of the 



50 BETTER ADVERTISING- 

Fifteen dollars for your 
smart new shoes — and 

ruined in one little shower 

"If I have to go out with my feet looking a sight, I won't go 
at all," you said. And out you started without your rubbers, 
though you had paid a fancy price for your new shoes. And 
in a short time you asked yourself why they went to pieces 
so completely! 

The very first rain gives the toes a dull stained appearance 
and starts deterioration. Repeated wettings actually destroy 
the life of the leather. The soles become softer and wear 
through quickly. The uppers stretch until every line of their 
chic slimness disappears. 

You can protect your shoes and still have your feet look smart 

Nowadays, wearing rubbers need not annoy you. For you 
can get a slender, trim U. S. rubber that will fit, and fit well, 
any type of shoe from the flat-heeled walking boot which 
considers a foothold sandal sufficient protection, to the dainty 
slipper which insists on a rubber with a heel as high and a 
toe as pointed as its own. 

It has taken years to develop this rubber with the snugly 
fitting heel, trim toe, instep that does not bulge or wrinkle. 
These better-fitting rubbers are made possible by the long 
experience — by the craftsmanship of the United States Rub- 
ber Company. There is no detail of fit, comfort or smartness 
so small that it is overlooked. 

Go to your favorite shop and select your rubbers with the 
same attention to fit that you give when you buy gloves. 
Notice how much lighter, how much more elastic a U. S. 
rubber is — and yet you will find that it withstands the hardest 
wear. 

United States Rubber Company 

Fig. 8. — Copy appealing- to "Competition" (see p. 25) through 
a subtle appeal to "Caution." Note the shrewd appeal suggested 
by the appropriate headline. (See p. 116.) 






DIRECT ADVERTISING 51 

product based on a knowledge of his market, a knowledge 
of the appropriate instincts to appeal to, and a correct 
determination of the dominant tone of the appeal itself 
— he may yet fail so to word his appeal as to convey 
the desired impression to the reader. Appropriate lan- 
guage is necessary to the expression of the most effec- 
tive ideas. Without it, the most perfectly evolved con- 
clusions become sterile and unproductive in advertis- 
ing. This leads us, then, next, to a discussion of the 
development of the copy itself. We shall first consider 
in a general way the different elements entering into the 
language of the copy. 

3. "style" in the copy 

Advertising is distinctly utilitarian, in the sense that 
it is undertaken for a return in dollars and cents. The 
work of the copy-writer is measured by the returns that 
result from it. Hence it is not to be wondered at that he 
frequently assumes that if he can attract buyers, it mat- 
ters not whether he pays much attention to grammar or 
to rhetoric. The "if" in this case raises the whole 
question. Any advertising may attract some buyers. 
But if the advertising does not attract most of the pos- 
sible buyers in the field or class appealed to, it is not 
accomplishing all that it can accomplish. 

This is perhaps the appropriate place in the discussion 
to insist that the great majority of advertisement readers 
are not attracted by slang, by cheap familiarity, by poor 
English, but, on the other hand, are attracted by well- 
written material, couched in good English, such as tliey 
can easily understand, and which commits no offense 
against the canons of literary taste. Slipshod or slangy 
English, vulgarity of tone, and the sort of familiarity 



52 BETTER ADVERTISING 

that slaps a stranger on the back or chucks a woman 
under the chin cannot but be offensive to many buyers — . 
and this class is larger than some advertisers seem to 
suppose. Some readers may, indeed, have their atten- 
tion attracted in the first instance by the slangy or even 
by the vulgarly familiar tone, but in very few such cases 
is attention sustained to the point of awakening real 
interest. 

Whatever may be the number who are genuinely in- 
fluenced by advertising in which familiarity of tone pre- 
dominates, it is certainly true that many people are 
offended by this sort of tone, and for this reason, if for 
no other, it would seem to be a wise policy not to indulge 
in it. 

After all, even where this class of advertising may 
have proved successful in a given case, it is probable 
that success was really due, not to the slang or famili- 
arity, but to the element of genuine human appeal that 
it may have contained. And it will probably be admitted 
without much argument that this sort of appeal can be 
successfully made without approaching vulgarity of tone 
or undue familiarity — with the consequent certainty of 
avoiding offense to any portion of the group of possible 
buyers. The subject of " human appeal" referred to 
here is treated more fully on pp. 95, etc., under the 
caption, "Human Interest." 

It must also be borne in mind that the writer of adver- 
tising is appealing to the reader — that he is seeking 
something of the reader. If, therefore, he does not write 
in a way that interests and attracts, he will not have his 
advertising read. The act of reading must be made as 
easy as possible for the reader, and he must not be asked 
to adjust his mind to that of the copy-writer. On the 
contrary, the copy-writer is under the obligation to 



DIRECT ADVERTISING 53 



Leonard Wood drove the yellow fever out of Cuba. Saint 
Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. But the BARBER, 
praise be to him, HE rid civilization of its greatest menace — 
he drove away WHISKERS. ... If it wasn't for the 
barber, the United States Senate would look like a flock of 
bolshevists, and the map of the U. S. A. would look like a 
fur rug. 

Listen to what your barber says: "How about a BON- 
CILLA this morning, sir?" 

"A WHAT?" you blubber through the lather. 

"A BONCILLA!" He smiles, the while gayly brandishing 
the cold steel aloft. "Never heard of BONCILLA? Beg 
pardon, sir — where are you from? BONCILLA, sir, is the 
greatest international TOPIC. You hear it everywhere — 
BONCILLA! BONCILLA! It's the one big hit. What does 
it do to you? 

"Listen. It goes down into the very sub-basement of your 
pores, where soap and massages and lotions NEVER GET. 
And it comes back up with THE CLINKERS. It pulls the 
old face back to BOYHOOD, makes it throb with YOUTH, 
gives you that KID color— opens up thousands of little obso- 
lete blood vessels that haven't done a day's work in YEARS. 
BONCILLA, sir, turns back your Ingersoll ten years — kills 
wrinkles, and all the little specks in your face that make you 
'ASHAMED. It's a HE MAN'S way of not getting old. And 
it's GOT A KICK. Use it once and you're a BONCILLA 
fan for life. Seriously, sir, you ought to try one now. There's 
never going to be a re-issue on faces. 

"Boy, bring s some nice fresh towels, and see if the water's 
good and hot! There you are. Breathe deep, sir. Give up 
to it. Fine! You are now about to take a JOY RIDE back 
to your BOYHOOD— via BONCILLA." 

BARBERS EVERYWHERE ARE. GIVING THE REAL BONCILLA 
TREATMENT — and just to prove that they are on the square with you 
THEY INSIST ON SHOWING YOU THE GENUINE, ORIGINAL 
BONCILLA JAR— the one with the HUMMING BIRD ON IT. 

BONCILLA LABORATORIES of The Crown Chemical Co. 

INDIANAPOLIS, U. S. A. 

Fig. 9. — Copy illustrating- a breezy familiarity considered by 
some copy-writers to be skillful and capable advertising". It is 
doubtful, however, whether this style is as effective in general 
results as is copy that avoids the slangy or familiar tone. 



54 BETTER ADVERTISING 

adjust what he has to say to the collective mentality 
— or attitude of mind — of the class he is appealing to. 
Thus, as has been forcibly said, the writer of advertising 
English is even more concerned with impression than 
with expression. 

The point of all this is that grammatical correctness, 
easily understood language, and a logical sequence of 
ideas are the fundamentals in effective advertising. It 
may be accepted as a working principle that a maximum 
response to advertising cannot be expected without the 
constant observance of what is expressed in the fore- 
going sentence. 

Yet all advertising copy, whatever its object, and what- 
ever may be the market addressed, must possess ' ' style, ' ' 
and every good writer of copy strives to inject style 
into his production. 

For our present purposes, it may be said that style 
in writing depends, not only upon the use of good Eng- 
lish, but also and more specifically upon the ability to 
impress the written copy with special qualities of form 
or with special personal characteristics. The importance 
of style from this point of view is nowhere any greater 
than in the writing of advertising copy. To be able to 
write as occasion may require, in a persuasive, an ana- 
lytical, or a suggestive manner is, as we shall see later, 
essential to the production of advertising copy appro- 
priate to a given case But to be able — in addition to 
this — to impress each kind of copy with personality as 
well, is an ability that is at a high premium. The per- 
sonality of the salesman expresses itself in his sales talk ; 
the personality of the copy-writer must do the same 
thing. 

A style embodying these qualities may be the result 
of training, and, as in the case of the trained salesman, 



DIRECT ADVERTISING 55 



Ricoro — The Lucky Smoke! 

"Horse shoes? — They're the luckiest things in the world !" 
declared the motorist, as he snipped the end off a Ricoro. "I 
have reason to know! 

"I was coming down the state road, miles from any house, 
when 'Bang!' went my right rear tire. I climbed out and 
found a horse-shoe, with its nails driven clean through the 
tire! 

"Well, I didn't think there was much luck in horse-shoes 
then — and still less when I remembered I had used the last 
spare on the car. There was nothing to do but to sit and 
smoke till somebody came along and gave me a lift to a 
'phone. And then — I found I didn't have a cigar! Horse- 
shoes ? — Luck ? — Bosh ! 

"After a while a farmer came along in a buggy, and I ex- 
plained my plight. 'Hop in/ he said, and then — 'Say — you 
didn't happen to find a hoss-shoe around here, did you? Gin'ral 
Pershing here, dropped a shoe on the way to town, and . . .' 

" 'So you're the man whom I can thank for this, are you?' 
I interrupted. Then the humor of it struck me, and I said — 
'Well, the least you can do is to give me a cigar!' 

"'Tickled to death!' he laughed. 'Guess I owe you one!' 

"I lighted up the cigar he gave me and — well, it was a 
wonder! 

" 'Gee,' I exclaimed. 'When you can afford cigars like 
this, why don't you lock General Pershing in the stable and 
buy a Rolls Royce?' 

"'Cause I might run over a hoss-shoe!' he chuckled — 'And 
anyway these Ricoros are only lie at United.' 

"'Eleven cents!' I shouted. 'Giddap, General Pershing — 
next stop is United.' " 

Fig. 10. — A good illustration of the "Conversational" and 
"Narrative" form of advertisement, without the familiarity that 
is condemned in Fig-. 9. This advertisement is also, however, 
an illustration of the weak and inappropriate headline. (See 
p. 116.) 



56 BETTER ADVERTISING 

will then usually be reliably effective. In any attempt 
to inject one's personality into advertising copy there 
is, however, need for the exercise of extreme caution 
and a due regard to the effect on the mind of others. 
It is far better to be guided by established rules of 
writing than to have an attempt at originality result 
in copy, original perhaps, but wholly unadapted to the 
class to which it is addressed. Uncontrolled originality 
may result in a style peculiar to the writer, but its 
effect may be to offend, rather than to interest or to 
please the minds of the readers Flippancy, pertness, 
or coarse humor, to which untrained attempts at indi- 
viduality in style usually drift, are more likely to give 
offense to readers, and to please the author only. 

It is obvious that the style of writing to be adopted 
in one case must necessarily differ from that which is 
appropriate to another and wholly different case. Copy- 
writers distinguish many different styles of writing, such 
as: the "descriptive" style, sometimes also called the 
"analytical" style (see Figs. 16, 24, 27) ; the "persua- 
sive" (see Figs. 12, 22) ; the "impelling" (see Figs. 12, 
13, 22, 36) ; the "argumentative" (see Figs. 2, 6, 11, 16, 
21, 26, 28) etc.; the "suggestive" (see Figs. 23, 25) ; the 
"publicity" style (see Figs. 1, 2, 3, 16, 18), etc., as 
well as minor styles, such as the "interrogative" (see 
Fig. 23) ; the "narrative" (see Fig. 1) ; the "conversa- 
tional" (see Figs. 8, 9, 12, 13, 24, 34), and others. Tech- 
nically speaking, none of these constitute "style" itself, 
but are separate and distinct forms in which technical 
"style" may be manifested. It matters little, how- 
ever, by what names we call these various forms of 
writing. The question we are really concerned with is 
what tone to adopt when writing copy in a given case. 

But before making any closer analysis, certain gen- 



DIRECT ADVERTISING 57 

eral principles inherent in all advertising should be enu~ 
merated. They require brief comment only, since they 
are elements in all good writing, of whatever class. 

1. Conciseness. — Remember that verbosity tends gen- 
erally to cause tedium, and tedium destroys interest. 
The capable copy-writer condenses his material and cuts 
out every word that is not vital. Advertising words cost 
money. The thing that you have tried to say can always 
be said in fewer words than seem necessary at first. 
While it is true that white space is also costly, a crowded 
space repels readers, and hence is more than wasted. 
On the other hand, conciseness does not mean such a 
boiling down that the words carry ambiguity. The Turk- 
ish bath proprietor who advertised: 

" Ladies' Department separate, except on 
Sundays and Holidays" 

tried to say more than the words he used were capable 
of conveying. Conciseness, therefore, must be waived 
when clearness is endangered. 

2. Clearness. — "A word," says an old writer, "is short 
and quick, but works a long result ; therefore look well 
to words." This exhortation ought constantly to be 
before the mind's eye of the copy-writer. What is clear 
to you may be almost incomprehensible to others. To 
write words is the easiest thing in the world. To write 
words so clearly that no one can fail to understand the 
meaning intended by the writer is an art only to be 
acquired through much practice. ' ' Therefore, look well 
to words!" Choose them with scrupulous care for the 
effect they may have on the mind of others. Short, 
familiar words are invariably more effective than are 
1 ' dictionary ' ' words. Clearness is achieved by simplicity. 
Your appeal is always to irumbers, rather than to a 



58 



BETTER ADVERTISING 







THE FIRE FIEND PLAYS THE GAME 
greedily. Last year he gathered in property 
worth nearly half a billion. 

You are playing against odds if you trust to luck. 

There are hundreds of fire dangers — one of 

them is likely to burn your property at any time. 

Most of these dangers arise from the neglect 

or carelessness of property owners. 

You need the double-barreled protection 



afforded by sound fire insurance and the best' 
fire prevention service. 

The Hartford Fire Insurance Company offers 
both. Its fire prevention service is in the hands 
of trained Mnen who help policyholders to safe- 
guard their property. Its promise to pay is 
backed by a hundred-year record of honest deal- 
ing and fifty millions of assets. See the Hart- 
ford agent in your town about both services. 



Hartford Fire mL Insurance Co. 



Hartford * ' v "^T Conn. 

The Hartford Firf Insurance Company and The Hartford Accident Gf Indemnity Co. write practical,*} every form af insurance e. 



eptlift. 



Pig. 11. — "Reason Why" copy appealing- to Caution (see p. 42) 
and depending" on the picture element, with its startling" head- 
line, to attract attention and enforce the appeal. 



DIRECT ADVERTISING 59 

select few. And clear, direct language, made up of 
everyday speech, will always be a safer medium for 
conveying your ideas than an elaborate piece of com- 
position, which is more than likely to be over the heads 
of your readers. 

3. Simplicity . — Long, involved sentences full of 
unusual words may possibly be capable of being under- 
stood if read with concentration and thought. But the 
first effect of such sentences is to distract the mind from 
the intended effect of the advertising itself. Not only 
should the sentences be brief, but the language employed 
should be simple and clear. The thought should progress 
by easy stages, and be expressed in words that can be 
understood without mental effort. Simplicity is achieved 
by clearness. 

4. Proportion. — The proper balance must be preserved 
between details of the product and the product as a 
whole. Do not, for example, devote half a page to 
describing an insignificant part of a machine, while dis- 
missing in a few lines the subject of what the machine 
will accomplish. Emphasis should be proportioned to 
the importance of the subject. 

5. Make only one statement or claim at a time. Your 
task is to make it easy for the reader to concentrate. 
If you " scatter, " you weaken the force of all that is 
said. 

6. Each statement or claim must be specific. Gen- 
eralities are entirely out of place in advertising. 

7. Avoid superlatives. Let the reader infer these from 
the atmosphere you create. The chances are that your 
product is not the "best," the "finest," the "most 
useful, ' ' or even, perhaps, the ' ' cheapest. ' ' You awaken 
suspicion by making extravagant claims — which are 
rarely believed, anyhow, except by the gullible. (For 



60 BETTER ADVERTISING 

an illustration of how superlatives may be left to infer- 
ence, see Fig. 13.) 

8. Avoid stating conclusions. Leave something to the 
imagination of the reader. The statement: "You can- 
not do better than buy this" is one that the reader 
should infer from the facts that you give him. 

9. Avoid all reflection on, or criticism of, competing 
products. Endeavor to effect a sale by showing the 
value and quality of your own goods, not by showing the 
defects of the other man's products. Your purpose is 
to focus attention on your goods and their merits. 

10. Tell only the truth. Avoid half-truths. 

11. Strive to be persuasive, rather than dogmatic, or 
merely argumentative. Good advertising pulls rather 
than pushes. 

12. Self-interest in some form is usually the dominant 
passion to be awakened or appealed to. Most adver- 
tising must have this in view, either openly prominent 
or more or less thinly veiled. Some form of this sort of 
appeal is to be found in almost all of the examples given 
throughout this book. 

While ' ' style ' ' takes into account all the general prin- 
ciples just enumerated, there is more to be said of it 
in its relation to advertising copy. The writer of copy 
must, as we have already seen, take into consideration 
the product (the thing to be advertised) and the mar- 
ket (the readers of the advertisement) before he can 
begin to frame his written message which is really the 
third element involved in advertising. The "style' ' to 
be used in the message is determined by the other two 
elements. 

If the commodity to be advertised is, for example, 
a new model of patent rat traps, designed to be offered 
to farmers or to elevator men who are suffering from a 



DIRECT ADVERTISING 61 

Would you — 

for a friend? 

I'm in a peck of trouble and need some help. I'm up against a 
thing that I can't get away with. 

For the last two years I've been writing advertisements about 
Mennen's Shaving Cream — trying to make men who shave take 
just one try at it. 

More than a million have tried it ; and are now buying it. 

But there are a lot of other men 'who also shave that I can't 
seem to reach. They don't read my ads. 

I know as well as I know my name that if I could only get 
one little sample of Mennen's Shaving Cream into their hands — 
and onto their faces — they'd never go back to their present shave- 
ways. But I can't. 

And I was completely stumped about it 'til I got a bright idea. 

Why not, I said to myself, get some of the men who are now 
using it — and who do read my ads — to help me. 

So this ad is addressed to you Mennen users. 

There are more than a million of you. If each one of you 
would tell one friend of yours who hasn't tried it, what you know 
about it — 

How it makes the quickest, How it doesn't dry. 

creamiest lather you ever How it never smarts, 

used. How it leaves your face 

How it works equally well feeling smooth and clean and 

with all kinds of water — hot, Qooa. 

cold, hard, soft. How it soothes and makes 

Tx , ■ , _ a lotion afterward unneces- 

How you don t have to rub sary. 

Jt in - How half an inch will 

How it softens the stiffest lather the biggest face there 
beard — quick. is. 

If you'll tell them these things and the others that you've found 
out, you'll be doing me a big favor. And I'll appreciate it. But 
that's not the point. I haven't any right to ask that. 

You'll be doing them a favor. And I don't know many real 
fellows who don't like to do a favor for a friend! Am I right? 

JIM HENRY 

{Mennen Salesman) 

Fig. 12. — An example showing a combination of persuasive and 
suggestive copy (see p. 56), embodying an Appeal to Self -Gratifi- 
cation and Utility (see p. 42). 



62 BETTER ADVERTISING 

loss of grain due to a plague of rats, the language 
employed in such advertising cannot be of the formal 
and literary sort that would be appropriate when offer- 
ing a biblical encyclopedia to scholars. Yet the same 
individual can, of course, write effective and appropriate 
copy for each of these purposes, provided, always, that 
he has "the ability to create with words." He will, 
if he is skillful, inject into his copy, whether it relates 
to rat traps or to encyclopedias, such a distinctiveness 
of language — though differing for each advertisement — 
as to show his individuality, and to express himself in 
each. He will, in other words, adapt his style in each 
case to the product and to the market. Style, therefore, 
is the writer himself, expressing himself in the appro- 
priate relation to his subject and to his readers. 

By what has been said it is not intended to imply 
that the writer of advertising copy who happens, say, 
to be naturally of a serious or gloomy disposition should 
express himself in serious or gloomy language. He must 
first go beyond himself to ascertain what ideas will appeal 
to his readers, what emotions and instincts characterize 
them as a class, and what "buying action" he can 
lead them to through an appeal to such emotions. When 
he has ascertained these facts, he returns upon him- 
self ; he uses his individuality, his mentality, his own 
"slant of thought" in expressing himself in the style 
of language which his readers can best understand and 
appreciate, and to which they are accustomed. He 
writes, therefore, for the reader. Yet, if he is capable, 
he will inject into what he writes something which will 
distinguish it inevitably from what another person would 
write under the same circumstances. 

In this connection, examine the advertisement of Men- 
nen's Shaving Cream shown in Fig. 12. The distinctive- 



DIRECT ADVERTISING 6& 



7lhdqe@vam& 

Ttats 

for jQttlc Jgdies 

SPRINGTIME again! Aren't you glad? I guess 
most every girl is happy this time of year because,. 
for one thing, it means Easter Hats. 

I suppose grown-up actresses always keep the 
names of their milliners secret, but I can't help tell- 
ing you that any time you see me in the movies 
wearing a hat that you think would look nice on you, 
you can get one just like it for yourself. It will have 
my autograph inside so you can tell it's honestly and 
truly just like mine. In my very newest pictures you 
can even see what colors my hats are. 

Of course, I can't begin to wear all the hats I 
autograph, but you can see them at the store. They 
all have special linings that fit them to any girl's 
head so you don't have to wear an old elastic band 
or chin strap. Your Mother will certainly be sur- 
prised at how little they cost. 



To Mothers of Little Girls and Little Girls: 

Madge Evans Hats are created for youthful faces, for youthful 
fashions of hair dressing, for youthful purposes. All are hand 
tailored and made with linings that adjust them comfortably to 
every size head. We will gladly send you the name of the one 
shop in your city displaying a variety of these tailored styles 
at a wide range of moderate prices. 

MADGE EVANS HAT CO. 
602 Broadway New York 

Free To Little Friends. Write to me at 602 Broadway for my 
style booklet, "The Story of My Hats." Address Dep't A. 

Fig. 13. — "Persuasive" copy appealing- to "Self-gratification.** 
(See p. 42.) Note the strong- "human interest" tone characteriz- 
ing 1 this. (See p. 95.) 



64 BETTER ADVERTISING 

ness of the " style" of this advertisement is impressive. 
The language is adapted to the product and to the read- 
ers ; but it is more still. It evokes admiration for its 
style, which is individual to a degree. Examined for 
its style alone, it serves as an excellent illustration of 
what we have tried to express in the last two or three 
pages. 

Permeating the whole advertisement should be the 
" human element." The salesman with the cheery word, 
the pleasing personality, makes a friend of the buyer. 
His personality appeals to the human instincts of the 
prospect. So must the advertisement. It must appeal 
to the emotions of the reader through "personality," 
as the salesman does to his customer. Thus, if the copy- 
writer puts himself into the advertisement, if his per- 
sonality shines out between the lines, the advertisement 
will be effective just in proportion to the selling force 
of the qualities he expresses. 

When you open a newspaper or a magazine, the pages 
in front of you are full of advertisements — but how 
many of them do you feel impelled to read? Probably 
only one or two here and there! If you analyze the 
motive that impels you to read them and to pass over 
the rest, you will find that something stood out in those 
that appealed to your attention and awakened your inter- 
est. Those that are energetic and vital are those which 
get read. Such copy is good copy — for that reason. 

Now, it is an obvious fact that no reader of an adver- 
tisement is interested in the product from any other 
standpoint than that of his own self-interest. The fact 
that the manufacturer has met with largely increased 
sales, or that he has enlarged his production facilities, 
or even that he is constantly improving his product, is 
of no interest to the public, except as it may tend to 



DIRECT ADVERTISING 



65 



^^H^v 




^T«Ec)/}PMSE 



sense of beaufru has been 
developed -Do an' exvrzor dinar «i 
detfree. "1 

^JTie exauisifce 

c Symphonol& 

^^^ \J platier -piano 

appeals to all lovers of *be 
beautiful, so Uhco far-auuau 
Japan demands and buqs' 

tfhese superb instruments. 

tjoa ujill be proud of uour 
fascirjia&incj Si|ropnonola> and 
ib loill make t|our house 

a home . 

PRICE & TEEPLE PIANO CO. 
Chicago, U. S. A. 

Fig. 14. — A meritorious form of advertising, which, although 
lacking in descriptive details, relies, for creating interest, on 
its "you" element. Note how it stresses the Self-gratification 
idea (see p. 42), and how the point of view of the reader is made 
to serve as the impelling climax of the offering. 



66 BETTER ADVERTISING 

show that large numbers of people are buying the prod- 
uct and that, inferentially, it must have merit. The 
advertisement that really "gets under the skin" of the 
reader is that which talks about the product in terms 
of the reader's needs, the reader's interests, Ms desires, 
his advantage. Advertising that is a mere formal 
announcement, such as: 

SMITH & CO. 

Stationers and Printers 

All Kinds of Office Supplies 

Printing Neatly Executed 

has little of the ' ' human ' ' about it. If it has any value 
at all, it is that of publicity, merely. It serves, per- 
haps, to keep the name of the concern green in the 
memory of the reading public, which may, in turn, 
cause some of them to associate the name from memory 
with their wants as they arise. It may in this manner 
result in holding trade that the store already possesses, 
and even in attracting occasional customers who do not 
belong to its regular trade, but as for spontaneous draw- 
ing power, interest, suggestion of immediate action to 
satisfy some immediate need, or as for the elements that 
create desire not hitherto felt, all these are woefully 
absent in such advertisements. Indeed, they are not 
strictly advertisements at all. 

The person who is untrained in writing copy and who 
lacks appreciation of what may be accomplished by 
advertising wisely framed, is, somehow, instinctively 
inclined to write the "announcement" kind of copy, 
even if more elaborate than that shown just above. Mere 
generalities carry little or no weight in the mind of the 






DIRECT ADVERTISING 67 

reader, and are, therefore, valueless in the effort to 
awaken desire or stimulate action. 

What possible effect on a reader's mind can an 
announcement such as the following be expected to have : 

Our line is very extensive and is sure to please you. 
You are invited to call and inspect our varied stock. 
For anything that you need in our line, call and 
see us. 

It is true that it is less general than the one first 
given above, and it is equally true that it has the germs 
of an appeal to the buyer through his interest and his 
wishes. But it contains nothing that is calculated to 
excite his interest in such a manner as to goad him to 
immediate action, that is, to go at once and buy — for 
it names no one specific thing, it suggests nothing that 
the reader may need or may be induced to want, it 
offers no direct suggestion of a specific article which 
it will be to his advantage to buy now and at such and 
such a price. 

What was said above about the copy- writer 's putting 
himself into his work means, therefore, among other 
things, that the writer of an advertisement must vizual- 
ize himself in the capacity of the purchaser, and must 
express himself in such a manner that his copy would 
serve to sell the product to himself. By this sort of 
method only can one 6 i get under the skin ' ' of the reader 
■ — the buying class to which one is appealing. (See Fig. 
9 for this element, although the example itself is not 
commended for other reasons.) 

We shall take up this subject more fully in a later 
chapter. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE ADVERTISEMENT ITSELF AS A WHOLE 

It is a trite principle that is, nevertheless, too ofteu 
ignored, that one should never begin to write copy 
for an advertisement until one has worked out a thor- 
oughly well-defined idea of what one wants to say, and, 
of how it is to be said. "We have already seen how ne- 
cessary to this purpose is a knowledge of the article 
itself that is to be advertised, as well as a full and thor- 
ough familiarity with the buying instincts and natural 
emotions commonly shown by the class of persons to 
whom it is to be offered. Unless the proper sort of 
appeal is made in your advertising, the most perfectly 
phrased advertisement in the world may entirely fail 
to sell your particular product or to reach your par- 
ticular market. The right message is the only one that 
will accomplish your object. 

We are now about to see how the achievement of this 
may be assisted by strictly scientific and logical means, 
to an extent which will largely eliminate the element 
of chance applying to all advertising matter that is 
written without a due regard to psychological principles, 

On pp. 70, 71 will be found charts which, if intel- 
ligently used, make it possible to determine with remark- 
able accuracy what is the proper "style" to employ in 
addressing the prospective market, and what methods of 
presentation will be effective. The charts are the most 

68 






THE ADVERTISEMENT AS A WHOLE 69 

serviceable guide for this purpose known to the authors, 
and, if used with the analysis explained in pages 36-51, 
will cover any and every advertising problem commonly 
met with. The charts cannot do more, however, 
than establish the principles on which the copy-writer 
is to proceed. How he should give proper expression 
to these principles in each case will be considered later. 

Reference to the charts will show that for practical 
purposes we have classified copy as coming under five 
distinct heads or terms; and all but the last of these 
are more fully explained on p. 79. They are briefly 
listed here, with a reference in each case to the examples 
that serve to illustrate them: (1) "Argumentative," 
or "Reason Why" copy (see Figs. 2, 11, 17, 21, 28) ; 
(2) "Persuasive," or "Impelling" copy (see Figs. 12, 
13, 22, 36, 37); (3) "Analytical," or "Descriptive" 
copy (see Figs. 15, 16, 24, 27) ; (4) "Suggestive" copy 
(see Figs. 23, 25); (5) "Publicity," or "Good Will" 
copy (see Figs. 1, 2, 3, 16, 18). The first class men- 
tioned, i. e., "Argumentative" copy, will be found dis- 
cussed in Chapter V. The next three classes, i. e., "Per- 
suasive," "Descriptive," and "Suggestive," are also 
discussed in Chapter V under the general title of 
"Human Interest" copy. The last class of copy listed, 
i. e., "Publicity" copy ("Good Will," "Institutional," 
being other names for the same kind), has already been 
discussed in Chapter II, and is mentioned here only 
in order to complete the list. 

We shall see from p. 95 and from concrete examples 
which are given throughout these pages just what these 
terms mean when practically applied, although the terms 
themselves are more or less indicative of their nature 
and character. It is hardly necessary to warn the reader 
against attempting to copy slavishly any of the examples 



70 



BETTER ADVERTISING 




THE ADVERTISEMENT AS A WHOLE 



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72 BETTER ADVERTISING 

given in this book. Advertising, in order to be effective, 
must be fitted to the specific case. Merely to imitate 
an advertisement that has seemed attractive to you is 
likely to result disastrously, no matter how effective the 
advertisement may be intrinsically. For nothing will 
take the place of copy adapted to your own product 
and to your market by a deliberate and reasoned analysis 
of your own problem, either by means of the charts or 
by some similar means. 

Properly and intelligently used, the charts will assist 
in determining the general style of the copy in any 
given case, although it cannot be emphasized too strongly 
that this decision can be made only after one has as a 
background the intimate knowledge of the product, and 
the familiarity with the principal buying motives, which 
have been insisted on in earlier pages. In facing the 
charts, the first question to ask is : Into what class does 
the product fall that is to be advertised ? This answered, 
the charts show immediately the ' ' style ' ' and methods to 
be adopted. Next one asks one 's self : "What is the class 
of persons to be appealed to, and what are the predomin- 
ating instincts and mental characteristics of that class? 
The lists on pp. 42, 43 will assist in answering these 
questions. 

By way of practical illustration of this, let us apply 
the charts to a concrete case. Let us suppose that the 
article to be advertised is an equipoised telephone arm 
— a device for holding the desk telephone off from the 
desk and out of the way until it is wanted, and for 
making it easy to bring it quickly into place when needed 
(see Fig. 15, pp. 74-75). This is something that a great 
many users of desk telephones have at one time or 
another wished for in a vague and unformulated way. 
A man has suffered, say, from the disturbance of his 



THE ADVERTISEMENT AS A WHOLE 73 

desk by the dragging cord; he has been annoyed by 
others reaching for his 'phone and using it at his elbow, 
with the taut cord in his way. In the background of 
his mind there has always been a dumb irritation over 
the nuisance of an object that is always in the way, 
and occasionally causes additional annoyance by falling 
over or by upsetting inkwells, etc. Suppose that in 
such a telephone arm you have a device that will obviate 
all this, and that will give the user exactly the sort 
of relief that he has unconsciously wished for. 

"We turn to the chart for guidance in determining 
the classification of this device and of the prospective 
market for it. We find the case to fall exactly and 
concretely in Class B, the second chart. The device is 
unfamiliar to the public, let us say, but it fills an unex- 
pressed and hitherto but vaguely realized need. From 
an analysis of office conditions, you know, however, that 
a quick realization of the need for such a device 
will come into the minds of business men when the means 
of relief from the annoyance is brought to their notice. 
Your prospect — your market — is clearly the business 
man. The chart shows you that your case falls in the 
column marked II in Chart B. Following down column 
II, we note that, in the light of the conditions just men- 
tioned, the object of the advertising must be to give 
him full — and preferably illustrated — information sug- 
gestive of what your device will do for him personally 
in the way of convenience and relief. It follows, then, 
as the chart continues to show us, that the prevailing 
" style" of the advertising must be descriptive of the 
device and also suggestive of its possibilities. Analysis 
of the article itself assists us to determine that the tone 
of the appeal must be such as will lay stress on the ele- 
ments of Utility (which, on p. 42, is shown to include 



BETTER ADVERTISING 




THE ADVERTISEMENT AS A WHOLE 




en +j t 

-« <V o 

^ P r+ 
U 






o 



76 BETTER ADVERTISING 

necessity, convenience, and enjoyment). This will be 
the principal appeal. We gather further from the analy- 
sis, however, that a subordinate appeal may be made to 
the instinct of Self-Gratification, which comes naturally 
from the enjoyment of a device that contributes to a well- 
ordered desk and office and of increased comfort in 
their use. 

It must not be supposed that there is anything myste- 
rious about the operation of the charts or the guidance 
they give. They are merely a presentation in concise 
and easily usable form of scientific principles which 
psychology has shown to be applicable to the several 
cases presented in advertising problems. The results 
are scientific, but they are common-sense results as well. 
It will be clear, on reflection, that any sort of copy 
other than descriptive copy (see Figs. 15, 16, 24, 27), 
combined, perhaps, with argumentative copy (see Figs. 
2, 6, 11, 15, 16, 21, 28), and that any sort of appeal 
other than to utility and convenience, would be beside 
the mark and ineffective, when offering to business men 
such a device as the telephone arm described in Fig. 15. 

Let us suppose, next, that we have a new brand of 
coffee to advertise. The first question to be answered 
is one which will determine which chart we are to use 
— namely, Is the product familiar to the public or not ? 
If so (and, of course, coffee is familiar to everyone), 
we know that this falls in the first of the two charts, 
which covers all the possibilities of ' ' Goods Familiar to 
the Public." We know, too, without further thought, 
that there is "an already existing and recognized 
demand" for it. Hence we are doubly sure that we 
are limited to the first chart. The next question to be 
answered will be : Is the distinguishing feature of the 
new brand its cheapness or its superior quality ? If the 



THE ADVERTISEMENT AS A WHOLE 77 

former, we find ourselves in the first half of the chart, 
if the latter, we take, of necessity, the second half. 
If the new brand is to be offered with chief stress on 
its cheapness, we find that the tone of the copy must 
be principally persuasive, and secondarily argumenta- 
tive (giving "reasons why"), with the principal appeal 
addressed to the Desire for Gain (indicated by the cheap- 
ness of the brand, which permits a saving by the pur- 
chaser). The choice between the two columns of this 
first half of the chart will, of course, depend on the 
circumstances of the case, i. e., the nature and class of 
the market to be appealed to. 

Once again, the reader is urged to make use of the 
charts with free reference to the list of buying motives 
and emotions given on p. 42, and to the classes of copy 
listed on p. 79. Without the chart, these lists have 
not their full value. On the other hand, the service- 
f bleness of the charts cannot be what it should be, unless 
the lists are referred to in connection with the use of the 
charts themselves. 

Writing copy on the " hit-or-miss " principle, with- 
out first determining what one ought to say, why it 
should be said, and how to say it, is wasteful in the 
matter of advertising expense, and is taking a "gam- 
bler's chance" that the copy will produce desired results. 
To sit down to write the copy only aftei making the 
analysis suggested by the charts eliminates guesswork 
and establishes a scientific and psychological basis on 
which to proceed with the work. 

In order to make what follows entirely clear, and to 
facilitate the use of the list and charts, let us once more 
examine the latter. Our purpose now is to learn what 
they teach us regarding the blending in the copy of the 
"dominant tone of the sales appeal" with the appeal 



78 



BETTER ADVERTISING 



Three meals a day 

yet thousands are unfit 



Lack of one vital element in food 
now known to explain why so 
many fall off in health 

Science has made a discovery of 
far-reaching importance to every 
human being. We know now that 
thousands are slowly starving even 
on three meals a day. 

The .work of many distinguished 
physiological chemists has estab- 
lished the fact that our food can- 
not furnish the life, the vital energy 
we need if it is short in one single 
element called vitamine. And in our 
daily meals a sufficient quantity of 
this vital element is often lacking. 

The food of the savage was rich 
in vitamine. Fresh vegetables, such 
as spinach, contain it in good quan- 
tity, iut many of our modern foods 
have been constantly refined and 
modified until they no longer supply 
what we must have for health and 
vigor. 

The richest known source of this 
newly known life-giving vitamine is 
■ — yeast ! 

Today thousands are m eating 
Fleischmann's Yeast and gaining a 
strength and vigor they never knew 
before. Many physicians and hos- 
pitals prescribe it for the common 
ailments of lowered vitality, espe- 
cially those which are indicated by 



impurities of the skin and those that 
require constant use of laxatives. 
Fleischmann's Yeast, eaten regu- 
larly, helps to clear the body of 
poisons and make every ounce of 
nourishment count in building new 
stores of health and energy. 

Some ask: "Won't yeast when 
eaten have the same effect as in 
raising bread?" No. Yeast is as- 
similated in the body just like any 
other food._ Only one precaution: if 
troubled with gas, dissolve the yeast 
in boiling water before taking it. 

Eat Fleischmann's Yeast before 
or between meals — one to three 
cakes a day — spread on bread, toast 
or crackers, dissolved in fruit- juices, 
milk or water; or just plain. Have 
it^ on the table so all can have it 
with their meals, if they prefer. 

Place a standing order with your 
grocer for Fleischmann's Yeast. It 
is always of uniform strength and 
purity and is delivered to grocers 
fresh daily. See that you get a 
fresh daily supply. 

m To learn more about the newly 
discovered properties of yeast send 
for the valuable new booklet, "The 
New Importance of Yeast in Diet." 
THE FLEISCHMANN COM- 
PANY, Dept. J-29, 701 Washington 
St., New York, N. Y. 



Fig. 16. — "Argumentative" copy appealing to Utility (see p. 42). 
Note the headline appropriate to the subject. (See p. 116.) 



THE ADVERTISEMENT AS A WHOLE 79 

to the appropriate "buying motives.'' From examples 
given throughout these pages, we shall see concrete illus- 
trations of the analysis now following. We shall find 
that the chart indicates that the copy should be: 

1. Argumentative or "Reason Why" Copy — 

when the principal appeal is to the instincts of: 

(a) Utility 

(b) Competition 

(c) Moral and Esthetic Instincts 

2. Persuasive and Impelling Copy — 

when the principal appeal is to the instincts of: 

(a) Desire for Gain 

(b) Utility 

(c) Caution 

3. Analytical or Descriptive Copy — 

where the principal appeal is to the instincts of: 

(a) Utility 

(b) Self-Gratification 

(c) Moral and Esthetic Instincts 

4. Suggestive Copy — 

where the principal appeal is to the instincts of: 

(a) Self -Gratification 

(b) Desire for Gain 

(c) Competition 

(d) Utility 

5. "Good Will" or "Publicity" Copy — 

where the principal appeal is to the mass; to the formation 
of habits of buying, rather than to immediate buying 
action; and 

where the object is also to establish a name and a repu- 
tation for the advertiser or the product. This is listed 
here merely to make the list complete. The subject 
itself is discussed in Chapter II. 

TRe principles we have already discussed will make 
it a comparatively easy matter to determine which class 
of copy is the one that should be adopted in each par- 
ticular case. It will be noticed that (1) each class of 
copy includes several groups of instincts as the pos- 
sible objects of its appeal, and also that (2) the same 
group of instincts is, in some cases, assigned to more 



80 BETTER ADVERTISING 

than one class of copy. This should not be difficult to 
understand. 

In the first case mentioned, i. e., where the kind of 
copy includes more than one general instinct as the 
object of its appeal, it should be remembered that our 
analysis refers to the "principal" appeal. A skillfully 
framed advertisement will frequently — it may almost 
be said, will generally — include more than one appeal, 
although all but one — the principal appeal — will be sub- 
ordinated. Overcoats, for example, are a commodity 
which may be said to appeal primarily to the instinct 
of Utility (used in the broad and inclusive sense given 
it on p. 42). But likewise, and very generally, they will 
appeal to Self-Gratification, and even to the instinct 
of Competition. The question in such cases is: Which 
shall be made the basis of the principal appeal? If 
the chief feature of attraction lies in the price, or the 
value, the principal appeal is to Utility, and the 
appeal to Self-Gratification is incidental and sub- 
ordinate. On the other hand, if the chief feature 
of attraction in the overcoats lies in the fact that they 
are of imported cloth, of a new or fashionable style, 
the price, even though it be high, being regarded as a 
negligible factor, the principal appeal is to Self-Gratifi- 
cation or to Competition, and Utility is invoked as a 
basis of appeal only by way of an additional or sub- 
ordinate inducement, hidden away, so to speak, so as 
not to weaken the principal appeal. Thus, it is made 
clear that the principal appeal must be addressed to the 
buying motives and to the instincts which represent the 
largest average of the class of which your market is 
composed. 

In the second case mentioned, i. e., the fact that the 
same group of instincts is assigned to more than one 



THE ADVERTISEMENT AS A WHOLE 81 



"Bids are closed," or "Property is sold"- 
and you lost an opportunity because — 

YOU DID NOT WIRE! 

Next time, use the 



Telegraph Company and don't try to get 
away with it by a letter! 

TELEGRAPH— DON'T WRITE! 



Fig. 17. — A good example of a terse appeal to the instincts 
of Forethought and Self-interest. (See p. 42.) Note how the 
language of the opening- is calculated to arrest attention. The 
imagination is quickly led by suggestion to see how self-inter- 
est is to be served by using the telegraph — a difficult subject to 
"soil" through advertising. Yet the copy tends strongly to im- 
press the reader with the advantage he will gain by using the 
telegraph. 



82 BETTER ADVERTISING 

class of copy, it is obvious that it is necessary often 
to offer the same commodity in different ways (using 
different arguments) to different classes of persons. 
Insurance, for instance, may be offered to the man of 
wealth as an investment, and here the appeal is to Desire 
for Gain. To the man of family, living perhaps on 
a small salary, insurance is offered as a protection to 
the family after he is removed from its head as the 
protector and provider. In such a case the appeal is 
of a totally different nature — it addresses itself to Cau- 
tion or to Moral and Esthetic Instincts, although the 
commodity is of the same nature as that which would 
be offered to the investor on the basis of an appeal to 
Desire for Gain. (For the meanings assigned to these 
several terms see p. 42.) 

These illustrations should suffice to show the flex- 
ibility and adaptability that are necessary, and espe- 
cially the absolute need of a correct analysis of the 
prospective market before deciding on the tone of the 
copy itself. This latter is vital, and cannot be stressed 
too strongly. To appeal to Desire for Gain where Moral 
and Esthetic Instincts alone were involved would 
obviously foredoom the copy to failure. And this is 
the same as saying that to attempt to sell overcoats by 
means of " human interest" copy (see p. 95), instead 
of by argumentative or descriptive copy, is to fail at 
the start through a faulty analysis. 

Throughout these pages illustrations of notably effec- 
tive copy are given. These serve to show how expert 
copy-writers have effected the successful blending of 
appeals, as well as to illustrate the choice of the domi- 
nant tone for each class of commodity involved, and 
for each. class of "market" appealed to. By compar- 
ing these details in each sample advertisement with the 



THE ADVERTISEMENT AS A WHOLE 83 

charts and the lists, it will be seen how each "runs 
true to form ' ' by appealing to the buying motives indi- 
cated on page 79 as appropriate to the class in which 
the advertisement falls. If properly studied, these con- 
crete examples will serve more effectively to illustrate 
the practical use of the principles already discussed 
than would many pages of abstract discussion. 

It should be obvious that an advertisement which tries 
to call attention to a wide variety of unrelated articles 
fails in the very thing it should aim to do — to arrest 
attention and to create desire. The modern department 
store advertisement, which allots different marked-off sec- 
tions to different lines of products manages to avoid this 
by confining each line of goods to a specific section of the 
total "lay-out." Hence each section may be regarded 
as a separate advertisement, and the reader may easily 
skip those in which he is not interested. But an adver- 
tisement in which no such skillful demarkation of sub- 
ject and of interest is made, and in which one thing 
after another is listed, is little more than a mere cata- 
logue, which is a form of advertising that is commonly 
effective only after desire has already been aroused in 
some degree. An advertisement cannot be made to take 
the place of a catalogue, any more than a catalogue can 
be regarded as an advertisement in the usual sense of 
the term. Each has its specific use. Circulars and 
" stuff ers" for envelopes and letters, again, have their 
uses too. Yet all are subject to the principles we have 
discussed. Excepting, of course, the catalogue, each 
method of advertising, in order to be ideal, must spe- 
cialize; that is to say, it must subordinate minor fea- 
tures or minor articles to the one — or, at best, to the 
few— for which it is desired to attract special attention 
and to create special interest. Note how this is done 



84 BETTER ADVERTISING 

in Fig. 27. To keep hammering away on one point of 
attack throughout one piece of copy is far more likely 
to bring results than if your argument is made to cover 
a number of points. 

The scope of the present work is limited to the prin- 
ciples underlying the preparation of advertising copy, 
and hence it is not our purpose here to discuss the rela- 
tive merits of journal and newspaper advertising, of 
circulars and pamphlets, of "staffers," posters, etc., 
or the different purposes which underlie their use. 
Chapter VII is devoted to principles directly relating 
to the writing of copy for these. The channels through 
which advertising may be carried on are almost innum- 
erable. A discussion of the relative merits of each 
form would involve us in a consideration of subjects 
too far removed from that of advertising copy in gen- 
eral; and this subject is reserved for another book in 
this series. 

Although apparently differing so widely, journal and 
newspaper advertisements, circulars, and pamphlets are 
all controlled by the same basic principles, such as we 
ftave discussed in the earlier pages. Everything that 
has been said of advertising copy in general is as appli- 
cable to one of the lines just mentioned as to the others. 
In any form of advertising, special circumstances may 
make it desirable to stress some one principle above the 
others, but it can never be done successfully at the 
expense of the others. The circular, for example, may 
be utilized for going much more fully into description, 
and into argument, proof, and persuasion, than might 
be the case with an advertisement written for insertion 
in a newspaper, even though each covered the same 
product. The same intimate knowledge of the product 
offered, the same study of the market to be appealed to f 



THE ADVERTISEMENT AS A WHOLE 



85 



The Insidiousness of Low-Grade Sleep 

The chief danger of sleep irregularities lies in the subtlety of 
their action upon the individual. 

Even the least informed layman will agree that harm of some 
sort and in some measure is the natural consequence of sleep 
postponements or disturbances. Yet the average human, ex- 
periencing only drowsiness or at most very slight discomfort 
after a comparatively short period of sleep disturbance, does 
not quickly perceive that these effects will most certainly be 
cumulative if the causes are permitted to continue. 

Indeed, poor quality sleep is so insidious as often to break 
down the human machine without ever exposing itself as the 
destroying agent. The individual may lead himself to believe 
that he has experienced a sufficiency of rest because of the 
hours he has spent in sleep, whereas he has, unconsciously 
3r subconsciously, merely experienced a series of distractions 
that prevent and destroy all the purposes of real rest. 

Most assuredly, the thing to do 
is to take prompt action to over- 
come sleep deficiencies in their 
incipiency, for the sum total of 
such aggravations cannot, under 
any circumstances, be favorable 
to the individual or the com- 
munity. 

The Sealy Mattress, because of 
its physiologically correct con- 
struction and excellent materials, 
provides "balanced" support and that relaxful quality of 
sleep so indispensable to nightly recuperation and daily 
vigor. 

SEALY MATTRESS COMPANY 
Sugar Land, Texas 




Fig. 18. — If this copy gave prices, or named stores where the 
product could be obtained, or suggested means for immediate 
purchases, it would be effective "direct advertising" with a 
strong "human interest" appeal. As it stands, it is "publicity 
copy" only. (See pp. 16, 95.) 



86 BETTER ADVERTISING 

the same application of definite principles in order to 
determine the tone of the appeal, are as necessary for 
the one class of advertising as for the other. 

It may be said of newspaper and journal advertising 
that those portions of the advertisement not consisting 
of display are usually briefer and less " consecutive J? 
than is the straight reading matter of the ordinary 
circular. The latter, however, is usually broken up by 
illustrations, display, ornaments, so as to make it both 
typographically attractive and easily read, and there- 
fore it cannot be said, after all, to differ in principle 
from what is commonly called the straight advertisement 



CHAPTER V 
THE KINDS OF COPY 

Roughly speaking, copy is of two kinds : (1) "Reason 
"Why/' or that which appeals to the reason, rather 
than to the emotions (see Figs. 1, 2, 5, 6, 11, 21, 28) ; 
(2) "Human Interest" copy, or that which appeals to the 
emotions or the senses, rather than to the reason (see, 
especially, Figs. 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 22, 25, 26, 29, 37). 
This is a natural classification, and is withal so common 
a one that the terms ' ' Reason Why ' ' and ' ' Human Inter- 
est" have become standard. As a matter of fact, in 
actual practice, the copy is rare that does not include 
some of the elements of both classes. Good and wisely 
planned copy will, of course, be predominatingly either 
"reason why" copy or else "human interest" copy, 
but more often than not it is difficult — sometimes even 
unwise — to attempt to make it exclusively one or the 
other. For this reason the charts on pp. 70, 71 indi- 
cate for the generality of cases a combination of ele- 
ments which should characterize the copy under each 
given set of circumstances, the one first mentioned being 
the predominating, the others the contributing elements 
(see Figs. 5, 6, 8, 27). 

With this explanation serving in the nature of a 
reservation, we shall now consider separately the two 
classes of copy mentioned above. 

87 



88 BETTER ADVERTISING 

1. * ■ REASON WHY ' ' COPY 

"Reason why" copy is primarily argumentative in 
character. Its appeal, as was said just above, is to 
the reason. That is, it aims at reaching the mind of 
the reader through the intelligence, and is neither per- 
suasive nor suggestive, in the sense of seeking to play 
on the impulses. The predominating characteristic of 
this class of copy may perhaps be said to be proof; 
while in "human interest" copy reliance is placed upon 
description, suggestion, persuasion. 

Proof is produced by facts and by logical argument, 
but, since the advertisement is written to please the 
reader and not the seller, it follows that its logic must 
be easy and quiet and, while convincing, never combative 
or insistent. It is worth while to recall the old adage 
in this connection: "A man convinced against his will 
is of the same opinion still." 

As a concrete example, let us suppose the case of a 
manufacturer who is about to equip his plant with elec- 
tric motors for power purposes. There are dozens of 
different makes of electric motors on the market, and 
all of them are designed for the same general purpose, 
namely, of delivering certain horsepower in a form con- 
venient for commercial uses. Yet our manufacturer 
would not think of buying the first type of motor 
whose advertisement came to his notice, merely because 
it is a motor. He has certain definite requirements in 
connection with his proposed purchase, such as torque, 
power, the physical application that his circumstances 
demand, and he must be convinced that a given type 
of motors will meet these requirements before he will 
give them serious consideration. This is a matter for 
the reason to determine. In like manner, let us sup- 



THE KINDS OF COPY 



When fire destroys a factory, ordinary fire insurance 
pays for the building and machinery, but production 
stops. Although Hartford Use and Occupancy Insur- 
ance will pay current expenses and fixed charges while 
you are closed down, nevertheless your good will and 
continuous service to your clients lose much of their 
worth whenever production ceases. 

Most fires are caused by carelessness and neglect. 
Rigid fire prevention methods greatly diminish the 
chance of loss. Every concern should have both fire 
prevention service and fire insurance. High grade fire 
prevention service is furnished by the Hartford Fire 
Insurance Company. It is as necessary as fire in- 
surance. 

Fig. 19. — "Reason Why" copy, consisting- of simple argument, 
appealing to "Desire for Gain" and to "Caution." (See p. 42.) 



90 BETTER ADVERTISING 

pose that, after having discovered two different motors 
entirely suitable for his purposes and needs, he finds 
that one make is far more costly than the other. His 
emotions may predispose him to select the cheaper of 
the two types. Nevertheless, the right kind of adver- 
tising will have shown him that the higher-priced motors 
possess a quality of output, a durability, and a lowered 
cost of upkeep to which the cheaper type can make no 
claim. His reason will cause him to see that the higher- 
priced motors are cheaper in the long run, besides being 
more efficient and reliable. Persuasion, suggestion, emo- 
tional appeals are entirely out of place here. Nothing 
will serve in effecting the sale but proof; and "reason 
why" copy is the means through which it can be offered 
to his intellectual reasoning powers. 

Thus the sales appeal of "reason why" copy aims at 
the following operations of mind on the part of the 
prospect: (1) the recognition of a need for the prod- 
uct; (2) the conviction that the product offered is suit- 
able to supply that need; (3) a mental or intellectual 
conviction that the product in question is superior for 
Ms purpose to competing products; (4) a decision to 
buy. 

It will be noted that these are all operations of the 
mind based on reason and not on emotion or impulse. 
They involve logical decisions at each stage, and depend 
for their creation on facts — proof. It is well to empha- 
size here, once again, the impossibility of achieving suc- 
cess in this class of advertising without that intimate 
knowledge of the product and of the prospect's pre- 
dominating instincts, which is insisted on in Chapter 
III. The higher-priced product cannot be successfully 
marketed unless the fullest knowledge of its superior 
features, its higher quality, its suitability, is available to 



THE KINDS OF COPY 



91 



— It Had a New and 
Delightful Flavor 

More than eight centuries ago, according to legend, a shep- 
herd tending his sheep near the village of Roquefort, France, 
left his lunch — consisting of bread and native cheese — in one 
of the caves that abound in that region. Being suddenly 
called away, more than a month elapsed before his wandering- 
flock brought him again to the same locality. To his great 
surprise he found the cheese not only well preserved but that 
it had a new and delightful flavor. 

From some such incident of chance the French peasants 
learned that by adding small particles of bread to the curd 
and placing the cheese in these caves to ripen they could 
produce a variety of cheese, mottled and marbled, and with a 
strange new piquancy all its own — and they called it Roque- 
fort. Pure Roquefort is made of sheep's milk, and is much 
too pungent for the average American taste, but in the 
Roquefort variety of 




IN TINS 



we have perfected a skillful blend of the imported and pure 
white cream, producing a cheese of singular deliciousness, 
yet retaining the true Roquefort flavor. Elkhorn Roquefort 
Cheese in Tins is the choice of the epicure — its creamy tex- 
ture and perfect flavor never vary. 



Chicago 



J. L. KRAFT & BROS. CO. 



New York 



Fig. 20. — "Narrative" form of copy, showing- an appeal to 
"Self-gratification." (See p. 42.) 



92 BETTER ADVERTISING 

the copy-writer for the purposes of argument and of 
proof. 

We have taken occasion in Chapter III to warn against 
making attacks on the competing product by direct 
means. "Reason why" copy ought never to assail the 
competitor or the competing goods. It must accomplish 
its ends by proof of what the specific goods it offers 
will achieve for the user. The important thing for* 
him to know is what your goods will do for him — not 
what the other man 's goods will not do. In other words, 
affirmative statements enable a man's judgment to work 
affirmatively. Negative statements interrupt, weaken, 
and even destroy, the stress attempted to be laid on what 
is important for him. 

There is, perhaps, one exception to this rule. If the 
product offered is alone in its field, and must establish 
itself by first convincing the public that the old methods 
or the product hitherto used is antiquated, or that it 
ought to be superseded by the new in the interests of 
economy of operation, etc., an argument based on the 
wastefulness of the old method or of the old product 
is justified by the nature of the case. An instance of 
this kind may be drawn from the linotype when it first 
came on the market. It was at first necessary to con- 
vince employing printers that hand methods were costly 
and cumbersome, as compared with the results attend- 
ing the use of the machine. But when the lintoype 
was followed by the competing monotype, and later by 
the intertype machines, attacks by the manufacturers 
of one of these on the other two would be indefensible 
from the standpoint of good advertising, as well as from 
that of good business ; and advertising carried on on such 
a plan would prove not only ineffective but probably 
disastrous. The advantage of the specific machine to 



THE KINDS OF COPY 



93 



How Can the Motorist Save Himself 
from the "Other Fellow"? 



New York City recorded over 
three thousand motor car collisions 
last year in Manhattan Island alone. 

Effective traffic regulation de- 
pends on each individual driver hav- 
ing his car under positive control. 

If every driver could be as sure 
of his car as the Packard owner, 
there would be less congestion, and 
only the careless driver would get 
into ''accidents." 

The Packard people believe that 
first-class transportation must de- 
liver Safety, Ability, Comfort, Econ- 
omy and Enduring Value to the 
highest degree. 

Were the Packard to choose from 
the best sources of commercial parts' 
makers — we feel certain that these 
necessary features would not meas- 
ure up to the present high standard 
maintained in the Packard car. 

You are absolutely sure to get 
them by starting with unified engi- 
neering in the Packard manner. 

Controlling parts by specifications 
and tests — through casting, forging, 



machining, _ heat-treating, finishing 
and inspection. 

Paying 12 cents a pound for your 
steel, instead of taking a chance 
with steel at 6 cents. 

You will be led straight to the 
Twin-Six Engine, with its sure and 
flexible power, and the greatest 
range of ability in high gear. 

To gears heat-treated through and 
through — not merely case-hardened. 

To clutch, brakes, universal and 
bearings that give you the safety 
of positive control — Packard de- 
signed for the Packard car. 

It makes little difference whether 
the other fellow is to blame, or 
merely subject to the whims and 
weaknesses of his car. 

The Packard owner has all the 
chances of the road discounted, be- 
cause he is sure of what his Pack- 
ard will do. 

He is riding in first-class safety 
and first-class comfort. It costs 
him less all around than riding sec- 
ond class ! 



"Ask the Man Who Owns One" 
PACKARD MOTOR CAR COMPANY, Detroit 



Fig. 21. — "Reason Why" copy, with contributing- "Human In- 
terest" element that appeals to "Utility" and to "Self-gratifi- 
cation." (See pp. 42 and 79.) 



94 



BETTER ADVERTISING 




the Old oouth 




^A Hunting Breakfast at Mt. Airy - Dinner 
at the Randolphs- the Luncheon for the 
guest from the North and the afternoon 
tea ^ith its inevitable gossip- all Vcre 
occasions, in those glorious days of 
the Old South, ^hen hospitality reigned 
supreme 

Rcture the period preceding the Civil 
War— Vhen the Old South Vas in the 
zenith of its £lory The traditional- 
chivalry of its men, the dazzling beauty 
of its ^omen and above all the home and 
social life of that period are fanned in 
son£ and story 
^yind What an important part the famity 
silver placed in those old Virginia homes — 
just as Vc today cherish the sentiment 
which clings to our silverware and de- 
light in the natural pride of possession 
so the^Jomcn of the Old South loved 
their silver and gloried in its use 

We request the privilege of sho\iAn$f 
you the many distinctive designs of 
.period and modern silverware when 
you are ready to make a selection 

Spaulding & Co. 

Qo'dsmiths -r Silversmiths —Jewelers 

Michigan Boulevard atVanBuren Street-Chicago 
Paris- 23 Rue de la Paiv 



Fig. 22. — "Impelling-" copy appealing* to "Self-gratification" 
(see p. 42), with a strong "human-interest" element. Note, too, 
the suggestive headline and the connection that it has with the 
goods advertised. Note, also, that the name of the advertisers 
appears at the end only, and after the effect of the advertise- 
ment has been created. It has no "clincher" close, because 
the appeal is adapted to a special class of customers, to whom such 



THE KINDS OF COPY 95 

the specific user alone forms the basis of wise adver- 
tising. 

So, too, with the much too familiar phrase: "Do not 
accept substitutes ! ' ' This language constitutes an 
implied attack on all but the product advertised, and 
is thoroughly unconvincing. It has been proved that 
the public is rarely influenced in its buying by such 
advice. Conviction is created by the merits of the com- 
modity offered, and the wise advertiser addresses himself 
to the needs of his prospects, not to their prejudices. 

The general classes of cases where "reason why" 
copy should be employed, either as the predominating 
or as the contributing element, are indicated in the 
charts on pp. 70, 71. In the charts this kind of copy 
is designated "Argumentative," to distinguish it from 
the other kinds which belong under the "human inter- 
est" classification. The latter we are now to consider. 

2. "human interest" copy 

The different elements of "human interest" copy 
may be classed as: (1) Suggestive; (2) Persuasive and 
Impelling; (3) Analytical and Descriptive. For 
examples of these, see the various figures referred to 
on p. 56. Here it is a question of reaching the strong- 
est buying motive, and the appeal is to the emotions, 
the senses, the instincts, rather than to reason. Argu- 
ment is out of place here, since buying action in cases 
where the "human interest" appeal is made is not the 
result of reasoning or of deliberation, but of impulse, 
instinct, awakened desire. 

The effort must be, here, then, to create good impres- 
sions which stimulate desire through suggestion, through 
attractive description; and which set in motion the 



96 



BETTER ADVERTISING 




DSTER 

PIPE-THREADING MACHINES 



Fig. 23. — A unique example of "human interest" copy in inter- 
rogative form, relying- for its effect on the suggestion implied 
in the question. (See p. 97.) 



THE KINDS OF COPY 97 

appetites, the senses, the emotions, the sentiments. All 
advertisements of this class — and it is the most general 
class of all — must to a greater or less extent embody 
the elements of (1) Suggestion; (2) Persuasion; (3) 
Analysis and Description. These we shall now consider. 

1. Suggestion, — In " human interest" copy, more than 
in any other class of direct advertising, pictures play an 
important part, since they convey a distinct appeal to th<> 
imagination. In the chapter on good will or publicity 
advertising (Chapter II), we have referred to the part 
that pictures play in stimulating memory associations, 
and we have repeatedly insisted on the pertinency of 
pictures when used in the right connection. Here again 
this should be emphasized. While desire, vanity, emo- 
tion, or the sense of beauty, may be stimulated by a 
beautiful form, by color, by pleasing illustrations in 
general, it must be recognized that this is true in adver- 
tising only in proportion to the directness of the con- 
nection between the commodity that is advertised and 
the appeal that the picture embodies. Without this 
connection — pertinency — the association of ideas is 
impossible, or is so remote as to distract attention from 
the commodity and to center it on the illustration, and 
thus to defeat the purpose of the advertisement. 

The principal value of illustrations in this connec- 
tion lies in their power of suggestion. The picture of 
a person wearing the style or brand of clothes named 
in the advertisement, of the Gold Dust Twins at work, 
of the Dutch Cleanser Girl, of Velvet Joe with his pipe, 
are all, if viewed in the abstract, crude and even unin- 
teresting. But in connection with their subject, and 
contributing as they do to the description in the adver- 
tisement, they suggest to the reader a use, a need, a 
comfort, a luxury, which leads the reader along the 



98 BETTER ADVERTISING 

"No, madam, no corset we have 
ever made would fit you" 

When the corsetiere said that, I was at first inclined to be indignant. 
Then I remembered that she had come to my house at the suggestion of 
my dearest friend. So I said, with a smile: "Why, am I as lumpy 
as all that?" 

"Not at all," she said, "your figure is far better than the average. No 
doubt you could easily get a corset that would 'fit' as well as most 
women's corsets do. But it wouldn't fit in the sense that we understand 
the word. And I don't believe you want your figure to become like 
that of most women. 

"What I really meant is this: that no corset we have ever made would 
suit your figure. Our company is the largest maker of custom-made 
corsets in the world. 

"But no two of our corsets are alike, because no two women have 
figures exactly alike. The differences may be slight, but they are im- 
portant. 

"Not one bit of cutting or stitching is done on your corset until our 
designers receive from me the complete measurements and description of 
your figure. And when you get your corset, I give you a $1,000 bond as 
guarantee that every measurement and the description of your figure were 
used in designing and making it." 

At this point I interrupted her to ask "But what about style? Is my 
figure so good that a corset made to my exact measure will give me 
correct style?" 

"Yes, because the Spencer Corset is not 'made-to-measure' in the usual 
sense of the term. What we actually do is to create a special design for 
every customer. The so-called 'made-to-measure' corset is usually selected 
from a catalog and corresponds to the most obvious measurements, at the 
waist, hip and bust. But that does not necessarily mean that the style 
will be right. 

"Now style is a matter, not of measurements, but of lines and curves. 
What our designers do is to start with your measurements, then by build- 
ing a corset with correct lines and curves, with boning skilfully placed, 
create on your figure the most recent style. 

"In this process, therefore, they do not merely reproduce your figure. 
They correct it, where necessary. You know, of course, that your figure 
and your style as well as your health depend largely upon your posture. 

"Prominent doctors and educators have found, after a great deal of 
study, that there are three typical postures assumed by mankind. The 
'erect* posture is normal, healthful and stylish. Most young girls ha"- T e 
it. Four out of five women lose it before they are thirty, and fall intu 
one or the other of the two faulty postures. One of these is the 'fatigue' 
type — slumped down, with sunken chest and rounded shoulders. The other 
is the 'lordosis' type, with a deep curve in the back near the waist. 



THE KINDS OF COPY 99 



"Too many women have been led to believe that they cannot be 
in style without being uncomfortable. As a matter of fact, the normal 
erect posture, which is good style, is also the most comfortable and 
healthy posture, once you attain it. Spencer Corsets make it easy for you 
by gently insisting upon good posture. They are so designed that they 
redistribute the flesh and gradually re-locate the bony structure, restoring 
the figure to normal. 

"No doubt you have had the experience of putting on corsets which,, 
when new, were stylish but uncomfortable, and which in a short time 
became comfortable, but entirely out of style, because they had lost their 
shape. 

"Spencer Corsets retain both their style and their comfort. We guar- 
antee that they will absolutely keep their original shape as long as you 
wear them, if you adjust them daily." 

By this time I was interested enough to ask the corsetiere to take my 
measurements, which she did with the greatest care. I had just one 
lingering doubt. 

"How soon will I get the corset?" I asked. "Creating a special 
design for each customer must take a long time." 

"Not at all," she said, as she folded up her tape measures. "The 
Spencer system is such that a corset is completed in one week after the 
order is received by the designer." 

\ need not describe the corset which she brought me a short time after, 
and' I cannot adequately describe the feeling it gave me the moment I put 
it on. There was a sense of youthful vigor and buoyancy which I had not 
felt for years. And when I looked in the mirror, I seemed to see myself 
again as I was at twenty — except of course that the style was that of today. 

And the best part of it is that my corsetiere tells me that my gowns, 
will keep their style longer because my corset never loses its shape. 



Rejtcveno 



Surgical Supports 




Made by The Berger Brothers Company, New Haven, Connecticut. If 
you do not find their representative in your telephone book under the 
listing "Spencer Corsetiere," write direct to the company for the address. 



Fig. 24. — "Human Interest" copy appealing to "Self -gratification," 
with the subordinate appeal to Competition (see p. 42); note the, 
subtle manner in which description is made to assist persuasion. 



100 



BETTER ADVERTISING 




Pig. 25. — An appeal to Self-gratification (see p. 42) by sug- 
gestion. For the part played by illustrations in this sort of 
advertising", see p. 17. 



THE KINDS OF COPY 101 

highroad of desire. It is only when the picture "talks" 
that it helps in selling goods. 

Of course suggestion is not effected by pictures alone. 
The statement that the product is in daily and grow- 
ing use at such and such a factory; that so many hun- 
dreds are daily consumed at So-and-So's hotel; that 

Dr invariably recommends the product, etc., 

etc., would be neither of interest nor of value, as a 
statement in an advertisement, were it not for the sug- 
gestion such a statement carries to the mind of the reader 
that the article must be good if used under such cir- 
cumstances. The value of this sort of suggestion lies 
in the interest it awakens, in the imitation or rivalry it 
provokes, in the advantages it indirectly proposes, in 
other words, in the manner in which it sets the imagina- 
tion to work. 

The methods of using suggestion in advertising in 
order to stimulate or set in operation the human emo- 
tions that control buying are limited only by the copy- 
writer's imagination and his knowledge of the emotional 
springs of human action. 

2. Persuasion. — Persuasion may be addressed to con- 
siderations of health, of comfort, of efficiency, of safety, 
to the appetites and vanities, to self-indulgence — in fact, 
to all the ordinary human emotions. By an appeal to 
my sense of comfort I am quickly brought to desire that 
which will contribute to my comfort; by an appeal to 
my ambition or to my desire for more money I am per- 
suaded to try to qualify myself for advancement or 
for increase in salary. See, for example, Fig. 26. 

Persuasion is exercised when I am urged to order 
cigars of which I may smoke a dozen and return the 
rest without cost, in case I decide I do not like them. 
Persuasion by suggestion is what is resorted to by depict- 



102 BETTER ADVERTISING 



"Another #50 Raise!" 

"Why, that's the third increase 
I've had in a year! It just shows 
what special training will do for a 

man." 

Every mail brings letters from 
some of the two million students of 
the International Correspondence 
Schools, telling of advancements and 
increased salaries won through spare 
time study. 

How much longer are you going 
to wait before taking the step that 
is bound to bring you more money? 
Isn't it better to start now than to 
wait five years and then realize what 
the delay has cost you? 

One hour after supper each night 
spent with the I. C. S. in the quiet 
of your own home will prepare you 
for the position you want in the 
work you like best. 

Yes, it will ! Put it up to us to 
prove it. Without cost, without ob- 
ligation, just mark and mail this 
coupon. 

Fig. 26. — "Human interest" copy embodying- "Persuasion." 
<See p. 101.) 



THE KINDS OF COPY 103 

ing a woman tired to the point of exhaustion through 
following the old methods of sweeping and houseclean- 
ing, as opposed to the smiling figure of a woman who, 
by making use of a vacuum cleaner, is declared to have 
finished her housecleaning before 9 a. m., and with 
little or no exertion. Obviously persuasion, but per- 
suasion of a different nature, must be exercised when 
offering cigars to women, as compared with the sort of 
persuasion needed to make the same commodity attrac- 
tive to men. Here, once more, we see the need of a 
thorough study of the market — the prospects. Here, too, 
an intimate knowledge of the emotions that should be 
awakened is vital before one can decide on what form 
of persuasion to adopt in one's copy. 

Persuasion, then, has for its object what might be 
described as the pushing of the prospect "over the 
edge" of his hesitation. We know from personal experi- 
ence that it is easy to become interested in an article 
that we see advertised, but that the desire to buy is 
often not so developed as to make us reach a decision 
to buy it. Persuasion is aimed to overcome the inde- 
cision, the hesitation, the procrastination, and to turn 
the half -formed desire into decision. The most effective 
sort of persuasion is that which shows the advantage 
of immediate action through the offer of special prices, 
discounts for a limited time, free trial, etc. 

It must not be forgotten, however, that after all, one 
of the most persuasive methods of all is to tell people 
what they are most interested in hearing, or what they 
most desire to be assured about. This is just what good 
advertising does, if the plan is properly analyzed before- 
hand. A woman who is thinking of buying a washing 
machine wants to be assured that the machine offered 
her will wash her clothes cleaner and with the least effort 



104 



BETTER ADVERTISING 



Don't, Madam 

Don't Try to Bake Beans 




It takes too many hours. And 
no home oven can fit beans to 
easily digest. 

Leave this dish to the Van Camp 
scientific cooks. They have worked 
for years to perfect it. They have 
the facilities. 

The New-Day Way 

The Van Camp experts — college 
trained — make a science of bean 
baking. 

Their beans are grown on studied 
soils. Each lot is analyzed before 
they start to cook. 

Their boiling water is freed from 
minerals, for hard water makes 
skins tough. 

Their baking is done in steam 
ovens. Thus they bake for^ hours 
at high heat, without bursting or 
crisping a bean. And they bake in 
sealed containers so no flavor can 
escape. 

The Ideal Sauce 

They perfected a supreme sauce 
by testing 856 recipes. It is ideal 
in its tang and zest. That sauce 
is baked with the pork and beans, 
so that every atom shares it. 

The result is beans as men like 
them. They are nut-like and whole. 
They have savor and zest. And 
they don't upset digestion. 

Such beans can't be baked at 
home. They are nowhere baked as 
we bake them. Serve a meal of 
Van Camp's and you will gain an 
entirely new idea of baked beans. 



Pork and Beans 

Baked With the Van Camp Sauce— Also Without It 

Fig. 27. — "Analytical" copy (see p. 79) with a combined appeal 
to Utility and to Moral and Esthetic Instincts. (See pp. 42, 43.) 



THE KINDS OF COPY 105 

to herself as well as in the most satisfactory manner. 
The person who is considering the purchase of a sub- 
stitute for coffee wants to be assured that the brand 
under consideration is wholesome and appetizing. The 
woman who is impressed with Gold Dust as a possible 
cleaner wants to be assured that it really is cleanly and 
efficient. In each case, such assurance, if accompanied 
by suitable statement of facts, is highly persuasive 
because at tliat stage tlie desire for the article itself and 
tlie buying motive are already awakened. The "per- 
suasion" is accomplished by stressing the facts that 
appeal to the right instincts and buying motives, that 
is, the facts that the prospect wants to know. Thus 
persuasion, in some form, must be present in every 
"human interest" advertisement, if the latter is to 
accomplish its object. 

It is highly useful to bear in mind that the human 
mind finds it difficult to make new decisions. That is 
to say that action comes more easily as the result of 
persuasion if the action sought is of the habitual sort. 
Here again is emphasis laid on the value of a study of 
the emotions and buying motives that are customary 
with the class appealed to, in order that the adver- 
tising appeal may suggest such action as conforms to 
the habits of the class, and does not run counter to the 
resistance of inertia by attempting to induce action 
to which the class is unaccustomed. To give an extreme 
example: a department store offers a bargain sale of 
cotton goods. It stipulates in its advertisement : ' l only 
ten yards to a customer : no telephone or charge orders 
accepted." This offer is addressed to the class of cus- 
tomers accustomed to shopping personally; and while 
it excites their desire, its conditions are in line with 
their habits and modes of decision. On the other hand, 



106 BETTER ADVERTISING 

the same store would never think of advertising costly 
dinner dresses on the same basis. The appeal is in the 
main to a different clientele, who are in the habit of 
inspecting critically before buying, and who do so with- 
out the thought of "bargains"; who will buy one or 
several, as fancy may dictate, and without any restric- 
tion or dictation on the part of the store; and whose 
purchases are usually ' ' charge orders. ' ' In the two cases 
• persuasion and decision are brought about by entirely 
different appeals. But the action that is induced in each 
case is the action that is habitual to tJte class appealed to. 

3. Analysis and Description. — Used alone, mere 
description is not very convincing. It is a contributive, 
rather than an independent element in copy. Yet it 
belongs in the "human interest" category, for the rea- 
son that it must be used to a greater or less degree in 
a, large proportion of advertising. 

Description is used to support the main appeal, what- 
ever the nature of the latter may be. It can rarely be 
made effective if it is allowed to overshadow the rest. 
Its use must be justified by making the details described 
interest or affect. the reader's sense of need, by exciting 
or contributing to his decision to buy. He is not inter- 
ested in the abstract qualities or details of your shav- 
ing cream, nor in its ingredients, nor in the quantity 
manufactured annually. What he is interested in is 
the fact that it is smooth in its application, that it 
softens the beard, that it makes shaving easier for Mm, 
Generalities dragged into description are fatal. 

It will perhaps be clear at this stage of the discussion 
that different kinds of copy may be combined in the 
same advertisements with good effect, provided only that 
they are given different degrees of emphasis and of 
importance in the advertisement as a whole. "Reason 



THE KINDS OF COPY 107 

why" copy may quite appropriately associate argument 
with its proof; suggestion may be strengthened and 
made more effective by being backed by description. 
The charts on pp. 70, 71, show that this combination 
is effective and desirable. 

The discussion in this chapter may be made service- 
able, not as an abstract classification of advertising 
methods, but as a means of fixing permanently in the 
mind the necessity of knowing the product intimately 
and thoroughly, as well as of judging intelligently and 
wisely which kind of statement may best be combined 
with what tone of appeal, and, speaking generally, what 
combination of appeals will most effectively "get in its 
work" in a given case. 

It may, finally, be useful to give the following as 
a criterion by which to determine when to use one or 
the other of the two classes of advertising mentioned 
in this chapter: 

"Reason why" copy is appropriate for advertising 
commodities that are utilitarian in nature, which serve 
as the means of satisfying some more or less impersonal 
need, such as machinery, instruments or tools used in 
the arts and sciences or in business, manufacturing, 
building, etc. ; such commodities, again, as insurance 
policies, investments, money-making propositions, and 
impersonal proposals generally. 

"Human interest" copy is appropriate for commodi- 
ties that are consumed by or used in connection with, 
the human body, or that minister to the personal desires 
and appetites ; where the appeal is to instincts, emotions, 
tastes, rather than to the reason ; where, in other words, 
the connection is personal, rather than remote or abstract. 

As shown by the illustrations scattered throughout 
these pages, one is not confined absolutely to one or 



108 BETTER ADVERTISING 

other of these classes of copy. The choice of the kind 
of copy that is to predominate can be determined safely 
and surely by the analysis just given, however, and the 
other, or subordinate, class can, as we have seen from 
examples, be allowed sometimes to contribute some of 
its features (see Figs. 5, 8, 12, 21, 27, and pp. 76-77). 



CHAPTER VI 

THE SEPARATE ELEMENTS OF THE 
ADVERTISEMENT 

We have now discussed the various considerations 
which influence the tone and the character of the adver- 
tisement, regarded as a whole. It remains for us to 
' consider the separate elements which go to make up the 
completed advertisement. By this we shall gain some 
idea of the technique by which the principles heretofore 
discussed are to be applied. 

Roughly speaking, the framework of an advertisement 
in a journal, a newspaper or other advertising medium, 
and the framework of an independent pamphlet are 
alike, in the sense that each has its principal headline 
(or " title ") at the opening; each has the body (or 
"text"), sometimes split up with subordinate headlines 
or display, and each has its close. In the brief treat- 
ment of the subject to which the space at our command 
limits us, it will not be so useful to consider the minu- 
tiae of the differences in each as it will be to consider 
the principles applicable to the building of all classes 
of advertising alike. 

1. THE PROPER SEQUENCE OF THE ELEMENTS 

Just as there is a sequence in the steps which the copy- 
writer must take before his copy can be produced, so 
there must be a definite sequence of the ideas expressed 
in the copy itself. We have already referred to the 

109 



110 BETTER ADVERTISING 

Bread ! 

Bread costs money. 

It is a substantial item among your expenditures, 
and will continue to be. 

Are you wasting it, and wasting the time of your 
help, by hand slicing? Did you know that ma- 
chines can be had which will slice your bread 
swiftly and economically? 

We have ten styles and types of bread-slicing and 
stacking machines, hand and electrically operated, 
ranging in price from $35 to $180. There is surely 
a Liberty Slicer which will suit your requirements. 
Let us know — 

The number of loaves of bread you are using 
daily and the size of loaf you use, and we will tell 
you whether you ought to have a slicing machine, 
and which of our models will best suit your case. 

Then, if you like — 

We will send you that machine on trial, for in- 
stallation and use in your kitchen, with no obliga- 
tion of any sort on your part, even as to transpor- 
tation charges, in order that you may test its 
operation and its efficiency. 

You can't lose! 

We are manufacturers of the largest 
and most complete line of bread and 
roll slicing machines in the world 

Liberty Bread Slicer Company 

482 Lexington Avenue 

New York City 

Satisfaction Guaranteed or money returned 

Fig. 28. — "Reason why" copy (see p. 88) with a good "se- 
quence," and with a convincing- close that tends to impel tp action 
(see p. 126), although it lacks a final "clincher," which would 
add to its effectiveness. (See Fig-. 37.) 



• ELEMENTS OF THE ADVERTISEMENT 111 

necessity of a "logical" presentation of the subject-mat- 
ter of an advertisement. It is necessary to emphasize 
here the reason for this. 

A prospect cannot be induced to buy until he has first 
been made to feel the need of the commodity offered. 
He must next be led to desire the product (and this 
involves the question of the tone of the copy, to be 
answered by reference to the charts on pp. 70, 71). Fin- 
ally, he must be brought to a decision to buy. These are 
not only the logical but the neccessary mental stages 
through which the prospect must pass before he actually 
exchanges his money for the goods offered. 

This sequence of mental operations represents what 
psychology terms the law of "sequence of ideas," and 
the copy-writer must have it in mind in his work. As 
applied to the writing of copy, it means that the adver- 
tisement must be so planned, so framed, as first to show 
the prospect his need; next, to awaken in his mind a 
desire ; and, third, to bring him to the decision to gratify 
that desire. This, again, means that mention of the 
need which the product will satisfy should logically 
precede the description of the commodity itself. For 
such a purpose, a headline — which is discussed in the 
next section below T — can generally be made to serve effec- 
tively. In three or four well-chosen words it starts 
an association of ideas leading to the personal recog 
nition by the reader of a need which further reading 
of the advertisement must develop into desire. Thus, 
the beginning of the advertisement, whether by means of 
a headline or otherwise, should suggest something which 
is important from the standpoint of the reader, relating 
to his needs, his desires, his gratification, and not the 
name of the product itself. 

The practical application of the "law of sequence," 



112 



BETTER ADVERTISING 




A Corn? 

Why, a touch will end it! 

A corn today is needless, and millions' of people 
know it. 

Years ago nearly every woman had them. Now 
women who know Blue- jay never suffer corns. 

Ask your own friends. 

Blue-jay comes in liquid form or plaster. One applies 
it in a jiffy — by a touch. 

The pain stops. In a little time the whole corn 
loosens and comes out. 

The proof is everywhere. Tens of millions of corns 
have been ended in this simple, easy way. 

This is the scientific method — the modern way of 
dealing with a corn. It was created by this world-famed 
laboratory, which every physician respects. 

One test will solve all your corn problems. Make it 

tonight. Buy Blue-jay from your diuggist. 

Chicago BAUER & BLACK New York 

Pig. 29. — A good example of the headline and of the beginning 
of the advertisement suggesting- a need and the way the need can 
be met. The "sequence" is admirable, the name of the product 
being subordinated to its description. The name of the maker is 
small and at the end only, as being relatively immaterial. 



ELEMENTS OF THE ADVERTISEMENT 



113 



E. T. TROTTER & CO. 

576-602 JOHNSON AVE., 
BROOKLYN, N. Y. 

MANUFACTURERS 
OF HIGH-GRADE 



Insulating 
Compounds 



PORCELAIN AND BATTERY 
SEALING COMPOUNDS 
SLOW BURNING COMPOUNDS 
RUBBER SUBSTITUTES 
HYDRO CARBONS 
POT HEAD COMPOUNDS 
COMMUTATOR COMPOUNDS 
UNDERGROUND COMPOUNDS 

Dealers in Ozokerite, Ceserine 
and Asphaltum 



Fig. 30. — An illustration of bad "sequence." The name of the 
makers suggests nothing to the reader, and the products he may be 
expected to need are named last. (See p. 111.) 



114 BETTER ADVERTISING 

therefore, excludes from good copy all mention, at the 
outset of the advertisement, of the firm name, of the 
product itself, or of the trade name of the product. 
These all come later, in their proper place — their se- 
quence. And the greater the variety of uses to which 
the product can be put, the greater is the variety of 
effective advertisements that can be planned, with this 
idea in mind. "One idea at a time," is the rule that 
must be observed in all good advertising, and this is 
particularly true regarding the suggestion to the reader 
of his need for the product. Attention must never be 
diverted or dissipated by giving in one advertisement a 
list or a series of different needs for the product which 
the prospect may be expected to experience. But if the 
headline, for example, which may have been used to 
call attention to a need, is changed from time to time, 
providing always that it is one that creates attention 
and suggests a need, the body of the advertisement con- 
taining the descriptive material may remain unchanged 
throughout the successive changes of the head. The 
effect of suggesting a new need for the reader is that of 
an entirely new advertisement, as he sees the old descrip- 
tion fitted to new needs each time. And it has the advan- 
tage of a cumulative pointing out of different needs, 
through successive advertisements, which has its effect 
in impressing the mind. 

To what has just been said there is the apparent ex- 
ception of cases where the product itself is designed to 
offer a combination of uses. To this class belong such 
commodities as "3 in 1" oil, the tool that is at once a 
tack-hammer, a screwdriver, a wrench, and a can-opener, 
etc. These are, however, actually exceptions, whose at- 
tractions for buyers and whose desirability consist solely 
in the variety of uses to which they can be put. In- 



ELEMENTS OF THE ADVERTISEMENT 



115 



M 







Put On Like Rubbers! 

They keep heels level, prevent 
run-down heels and — you walk 
on cushions. 

"U-Put-On" 

Detachable Rubber Heels 

For French and Louis Heels. 
Black, tan, gray and white. 50c 
per pair. Ask your dealer, or 
send his name with remittance. 
For size, mark outline of your 
heel. 

Robert E. Miller 

Incorporated 

11-a Broadway.. .. New York 



m 

E 

m 
m 
m 

m 
m 
m 
m 

m 

m 1 



Fig. 31. — Interest-awakening copy, with the right "sequence" 
(see p. Ill), and appealing to "Utility." (See p. 42.) 



116 BETTER ADVERTISING 

stances of this sort are too few to constitute more than 
ordinary exceptions to the general rule, and deserve 
only this passing mention. 

There must, indeed, be a strict coherence of ideas be- 
tween the several parts of the advertisement. Breaks in 
the continuity of thought are a serious weakness, and at 
best tend to weaken attention, if, indeed, they do not 
discourage further reading altogether. Not only must 
the right ideas be rooted in the reader's mind in the 
right sequence; but in developing that sequence there 
must be a logical progress of language and of thought, 
with an avoidance above everything else of a haphazard 
drifting from one idea to another. 

2. THE HEADLINE 

There are very few cases indeed where advertising 
can be made to attract attention without an introduc- 
tory display line that will serve to attract the attention 
and make at least some impression. That is the func- 
tion of display; and on its wise use will often depend 
whether or not the advertisement itself is read at all. 
For this reason a display line — especially the headline 
or introductory display line — should be brief, with the 
idea of catching the attention without any conscious 
exercise of the mental faculties being necessary. Three, 
four, or five words — the number depending somewhat 
on the width of the space available — are regarded as 
the limit of the standard, which, however, for special 
reasons, is sometimes disregarded. The opening display 
should express but one idea, and the object to be striven 
for is to express that idea in words that grip the atten- 
tion and excite interest enough to induce a reading of 
what follows. Much can be learned in this particular 



ELEMENTS OF THE ADVERTISEMENT 117 



Help Your Men Start a Band 

A factory band pays dividends in esprit de corps. Employees "take to 
it" and it is the testimony of organizations having one or more bands that 
a noticeable improvement in morale is quickly brought about. 

And one of the particularly desirable features about starting a band is 
ready acceptance of the idea by employees. It is one of the items of wel- 
fare work which does not have to be urged. About all an employer need 
do is set the idea in motion and, perhaps*, give some small temporary 
financial aid. 

Big Organizations Have Bands 

Here is evidence of the value of a band — in the very names of the' 
organizations having them: Erie Railroad Company, Sears, Roebuck & 
Co., Packard Motor Car Company, Chicago Daily News, The Semet-Solvay 
Companies, Ford Motor Company, Standard Oil Company, Oakland Motor 
Car Company, Chicago Elevated Railroads, Commonwealth Edison Co.* 
Chicago Shipbuilding Company. There are hundreds of others. 

Information at Your Disposal 

The house of Lyon & Healy has equipped many bands* 
Valuable experience gleaned in this way is at your disposal. 
How to suggest the idea — estimates — easy payment plans — 
the instruments necessary — the selection of a band leader — 
mistakes to avoid — and other matters to be considered in 
starting a factory band have all been worked out. Corre- 
spondence from employers is solicited and expert advice is 
free, whether a band be started or not. 

Catalog of Band Instruments 

As an initial step, send for free Catalog of Band Instru- 
ments, picturing, describing and pricing band instruments 
and accessories. Lyon & Healy instruments are used by 
bands everywhere. The finest band instruments produced 
are the famous Lyon & Healy Own Make. Others, each best 
for the money, are the American Professional, Climax and 
Regimental. 

Write us for the free booklet, "Starting a Factory Band" 

LYON & HEALY 

60 to 80 Jackson Blvd. CHICAGO 

Fig. 32. — Copy illustrating the use of "Headlines" and "Sub- 
heads." (See p. 116.) Incidentally, note the appeal to "Competi- 
tion" (see p. 42) in the reference made to organizations already 
having bands. 



118 BETTER ADVERTISING 

by a study of newspaper " heads.'' They tell enough of 
what is in the story itself to excite interest in the story, 
but they make no attempt to tell the whole of the story. 
So in advertising, the "head" should, by suggesting 
some feature or attribute of the subject of the adver- 
tisement, make the reader feel that it is worth while to 
read what follows, in order to get the whole story of 
what the article can do for him, or how it can satisfy 
Jtis need. 

Headlines may be interrogatory, exclamatory, sug- 
gestive, commanding, or, indeed, of any form which 
will accomplish the object aimed at, with due regard to 
the class of readers appealed to. Thus it is obvious 
that the use of a slang phrase such as, "Let's Play 
Hookey!" which, properly used, might ingeniously lead 
to an effective advertisement of golf clubs, would scarce- 
ly be regarded as appropriate in a church or school 
paper, the circulation of which was largely in the home. 
Aside from this, however, the fundamental idea of the 
headline is that it must convey a definite thought, or 
create a vivid image without any uncertainty that re- 
quires concentration on the meaning. The choice of the 
form is of course influenced by the nature of the prod- 
uct offered and by the characteristics of the group ap- 
pealed to. Notice here the headline, "Would You — for 
a Friend?" (Fig. 12). One would scarcely employ such 
a line as this in an attempt to sell, say, cotton goods to 
the trade, or heavy trucks to manufacturers (see, for 
example, Figs. 16 and 21). Nevertheless every such 
line must embody some shade of the "self-interest" idea 
which may seem suited to the class to which the adver- 
tisement is intended to appeal. The headline just 
quoted is used in a masterly fashion in the advertise- 
ment shown in Fig. 11, because it is used in a proper 



ELEMENTS OF THE ADVERTISEMENT 



119 




\~ I wonder ifwerespendm&ith mediums / 



This little drama is enacted every business day somewhere 
by the men who furnish the money and direct the plans for 
the publicity of their product. 

Around that big director's table sentiment gives way to 
sense, facts are sought rather than fiction, exactness de- 
manded instead of estimates. 

The advertising manager, the agent, the publisher all rec- 
ognize the insistent and growing demand for circulation facts. 

"A. B. C. Service" supplies this information in a uniform, 
standardized, comprehensive, far-reaching manner — gives a 
definite gauge of just what your dollar will buy in any desired 
field or class. 

It is one thing to make a recommendation for an appro- 
priation; quite another to have your recommendation justified 
by facts. 

Why not back up your plans with the knowledge and facts 
that "A. B. C. Service" places at your disposal? Its cost is 
but a fraction of the cost of doing without it. 

The Audit Bureau of Circulations is a co-operative organi- 
zation — not for profit — its membership includes over one 
thousand Advertisers, Advertising Agents and Publishers, 
in the United States and Canada, who believe in stand- 
ardized circulation information. Complete information re- 
garding the service and membership may be obtained by 
addressing — Russell R. Whitman, Managing Director. 

AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS 

15 East Washington Street, Chicago 

Fig. 33. — Copy admirably illustrating- the use of an appropriate 
headline, a correct "sequence," and embodying a sales appeal of 
considerable force. 



120 BETTER ADVERTISING 

environment. The widely known and decidedly effec- 
tive headline, "There's a Reason," is effective because 
it is used in an appeal to the self-interest of the reader, 
based on his health and enjoyment. There's a reason 
for using this headline in just this connection that would 
be woefully lacking if it were used, say, in an attempt 
to sell sugar, or jewelry, or fur coats! It is vital, there- 
fore, to keep in mind the principle of. suitability which 
must underlie attractiveness of headline. "Catchy" 
headlines, which merely compel momentary attention, 
but are not appropriate to the subject and to the class 
of readers, will attract casual notice only, and will not 
lead to sustained attention and to interest in the body 
of the advertisement, And without the latter the adver- 
tisement might almost as well never have been written 
at all, for all the good it will do. Headlines must, 
therefore, be appropriate as well as "catchy." 

Consider the following effective headlines from the 
point of view just discussed: 

"Now for the Dishes!" 
Advertising a dishwashing machine, offering relief to the 
tired housewife who exclaims after each meal: "Now 
for those tiresome dishes !" Illustrating an appeal to 
"Utility" and to "Moral and Esthetic Instincts." (See 
p. 43.) 

"Eventually — Why not Now?" 
Advertising a brand of flour. Illustrating an appeal to 
"Utility" and to "Moral and Esthetic Instincts." (See 
p. 43.) 

"Like a North-Pole Zephyr" 
Advertising an electric fan. Illustrating an appeal to 
"Self-Gratification." (See p. 42.) 

"Eliminate This Waste!" 
Advertising a time-saving device. Illustrating an appeal 
to "Caution" and to "Utility." (See p. 42.) 



ELEMENTS OF THE ADVERTISEMENT 



121 







It was a great vacation, but I am glad to be back. 

I've often heard people speak of coming home to 
rest up after a vacation. They said it as a joke, but 
there's a certain amount of truth in it. 

A vacation is lots of fun, but there's no denying the 
comfort of getting back home. 

My owrt bed, the good home-cooking, the conven- 
iences of my own clothes closet and the luxury of 
my own bathroom certainly look good to me. 

But the greatest pleasure of all is to get back to 
my own porch with my favorite cigar — CINCO — 
the most restful cigar in America. 

Pig. 34. — An instance of the use of an illustration that is entirely- 
inappropriate to the nature and purpose of the advertisement, as 
well as of an introduction that is ineffective because its subject 
has no logical connection with the goods offered. 



122 BETTER ADVERTISING 

"Wash Day Can Be 'At Home' Day 9 ' 
Advertising a washing machine. Illustrating an appeal 
to "Utility" and to "Moral and Esthetic Instincts." (See 
pp. 42, 43.) 

"Who Crosses Your Property Line?" 
Advertising a fencing material. Illustrating an appeal 
to "Caution." (See p. 42.) 

"Lighter Housework for Summer Days" 
Advertising a floor covering. Illustrating an appeal to 
"Utility" and "Moral and Esthetic Instincts." (See 
pp. 42, 43.) 

"What Happens When You Serve Pie?" 
Advertising a lard substitute. Illustrating an appeal to 
"Moral and Esthetic Instincts," to "Self-Gratification," 
and to "Utility." (See pp. 42, -43.) 

"Save What You've Got!" 
Advertising a savings scheme. Illustrating an appeal to 
"Desire for Gain." (See p. 42.) 

"The Power Behind the Voice" 
Advertising telephone batteries. Illustrating an appeal to 
"Caution." (See p. 42.) 

"Say It with Flowers" 
Advertising flowers. Illustrating an appeal to "Moral 
and Esthetic Instincts." (See p. 43.) 

These lines are selected and quoted at random, and 
not because they are in any manner superior to many 
hundreds that can be encountered any day in booklets, 
folders, circulars, newspapers, or magazines. They are 
cited simply as ordinary examples of what may be done 
with the short headline, and of what its relation to the 
spirit of the advertisement should be. The principle 
that they serve to illustrate is worth more than super- 
ficial notice. The noteworthy thing about them is the 
fact that terse language — usually four or five words — 
can be made to attract attention and to awaken interest, 



ELEMENTS OF THE ADVERTISEMENT 123 



HANDS UP! 

Come Across! 

The Landlord, the Tax Collector, 
the Milkman, the Butcher, the Grocer, 
use more polite language, but they 
make you stand and deliver just the 
same! You're fighting against too big 
odds. Quit it and have your home 
outside the city limits. Let's talk it 
over. 

Here's a splendid opportunity to 
have a nice Country Home in that 
beautiful suburb — 

Fig. 35. — An instance of an unfortunate choice of a headline. It 
attracts attention, but it conveys a suggestion that if the reader 
buys he is to be "held up" — and hence is lamentably unsuited to 
its purpose — a case of a strong headline which is destructive of 
interest. (See p. 120.) 



124 BETTER ADVERTISING 

while expressing a thought in tune with the advertising 
matter that follows. That is to say, they are not mere 
" catchy" phrases, but each one serves to start a thought 
in the reader's mind that leads up to the main idea 
later. This, then, is the object to have in mind when 
preparing a headline for any form of advertisement. 

3. THE BODY OF THE ADVERTISEMENT 

What we term the "body" of the advertisement is, 
of course, the main descriptive portion, although this 
latter may — and generally should — be broken up with 
subordinate display lines and with illustrations, if any 
of the latter are planned for. The subject of illustra- 
tions ("cuts") forms no part of our present subject. 
The general subject of illustrations in advertising will 
be treated at length in another book in this series. But 
it may be said in passing that illustrations in "direct" 
advertising (as distinguished from "publicity" adver- 
tising and perhaps from circulars and folders) are less 
necessary than is generally supposed. Pretty pictures, 
designed merely to catch the eye may actually serve 
that purpose, but they will do nothing that is effective 
in furthering the purpose of the advertisement itself 
unless they tend to assist the understanding, to inten- 
sify proof, or to stimulate desire. Some of the best 
and most forceful advertisements are all type, and they 
have the qualities just mentioned. Unless thoroughly 
pertinent, illustrations will, as often as not, cumber the 
space and distract rather than assist the attention. 

Whatever else the body of the advertisement may 
contain, it should, of course, give prominence to the 
name of the product advertised and, if there be a trade 
mark, to this also. We have discussed trademarks in 



ELEMENTS OF THE ADVERTISEMENT 125 

Chapter II in relation to their value in publicity adver- 
tising. Except as they serve to stimulate recogni- 
tion, and to recall the product to the mind of the 
reader, they are not of much immediate value in direct 
advertising. Nevertheless, even in direct advertising, 
trademarks and names have a certain publicity value 
which is cumulative with repetition, and hence it is 
usually profitable to include them in direct advertising. 

It is, of course, in the body of the advertisement that 
the blending of the selling motive with the appeal to 
the self-interest of the reader should take place. This 
may be carried out, either directly, by showing how a 
saving may be effected by purchasing the article in 
question, or by intimating that the price will shortly 
be raised (the familiar "Order Now!" ) (see Figs. 13, 
26, 36) ; or the language may be suggestive (see Figs. 23, 
25) ; or it may be argumentative (see Fig. 11) ; or per- 
suasive (see Fig. 12) ; or, finally — and this is most com- 
mon — it may be descriptive (see Fig. 24). But what- 
ever the form, each must tend to show the reader some 
advantage which appeals to his self-interest, or it will 
be largely ineffective — it will have no motive. For this 
reason it should be remembered that argumentative 
copy, being almost purely an appeal to the intellect of 
the reader, is always vastly strengthened by the judi- 
cious addition of persuasion or suggestive matter — and 
even here the self-interest idea should be injected in 
some form, if possible. Note the manner in which this 
element is injected in the copy in Figs. 12 and 25, which 
belong respectively in the categories of Utility and Self- 
Gratification. 

After all, it will be obvious that it is of little use to 
try to sell something to others through advertising 
unless your appeal tends to show them in some w^ay that 



126 BETTER ADVERTISING 

it is to their self-interest to buy. Obvious as this prin- 
ciple is, one encounters many an advertisement which 
is so formal as to compel the critic to examine it with 
much thought in order to discover how the advertiser 
justified the copy and the consequent expenditure. But 
the copy-writer who keeps this principle in mind is less 
likely to lose the desired inspiration than is he who 
writes without reference to established principles and a 
definite plan. A correct determination of the kind of 
self-interest which may be said to be uppermost in the 
minds of his market will complete his task in this direc- 
tion. 

No copy should be passed by a writer as satisfactory 
until it has been laid aside and later examined criti- 
cally, as if new and strange to him. At such an exami- 
nation it should be tested from the point of view of the 
reader, and to pass such a test it should satisfy the 
critic that it will (1) attract attention; (2) excite in- 
terest; and (3) induce a continued reading of the whole. 
But that is still not enough. It remains to convince 
one's self that it (1) appeals to the right kind of self- 
interest in the reader; (2) will arouse his desire; (3) 
will make him translate desire into decision; and (4) 
that Ms decision will correspond to what you have aimed 
at persuading him to do. This last is the crucial test. It 
leads us to a consideration of our last division, the close 
of the advertisement. 

4. THE CLOSE 

As with business letters, so with advertising : a strong 
presentation of the subject is frequently nullified to a 
greater or less extent by a weak close. The attention of 
the reader has perhaps been fully caught; his interest 



ELEMENTS OP THE ADVERTISEMENT 127 

may have been aroused; he may even have read the 
advertisement through with sustained interest ; the thing 
advertised has intrigued him — perhaps even his desire 
has been awakened. And then — he lays it down with a 
weak indecision, saying to himself: "That's a good 
thing. Some day I'll write and ask about it." And 
that is usually the end of it, so far as actual "action" 
is concerned. The weakness of an advertisement that 
produces such a result in the minds of more 
than a few lies in its lack of a forceful final 
clinching statement or urge. In some form or 
other, in some sort of language this should embody 
the idea: "YOU need this. The price is insig- 
nificant in comparison to what it will do for YOU 
(in convenience, gratification, labor-saving, money-mak- 
ing, etc.). Sit down and write your order NOW! If 
you don't, you'll be sorry later, for you know you need 
it, don't you?" This language is not offered as a 
standard, but merely as embodying in expanded form 
the final idea that has to be brought home with all the 
force possible. The point is, that you must not leave 
your reader until the preceding stages of need and 
desire have, if possible, been crystallized into a decision 
to buy immediately. A decision to look into the matter 
later is not the sort of decision for which you have 
written your advertisement and spent your money; it 
is virtually a decision against you. In this sense the 
advertisement is a failure — and the failure is due to 
the weakness of your copy. The critical examination of 
the copy recommended in the section just preceding is 
the means by which this should be discovered. To do 
this it is necessary to make yourself see the thing 
through the reader's eyes. Your appeal has to be one 
that will not only induce him to wcmt your product, but 



128 BETTER ADVERTISING 

will make him decide to get it, and, further, will lead him 
up to the point of actually getting it. 

As a matter of fact, men and women are a good deal 
like children in many of their characteristics. And it is 
the business of the copy-writer to know how to avail 
himself of this fact. Thus people — taken in the mass 
— have the habit, largely, of doing what they are accus- 
tomed to do, that is, they buy, and they keep on buying, 
what they have been accustomed to buy. But almost 
equally patent is the inherent disposition in people to 
do what they are told to do. Good advertising (except 
some of the "publicity" sort) is, in reality, designed to 
overcome the first-mentioned tendency in people, and 
to induce them to do something else, namely, what the 
advertisement tells them to do. And advertising is suc- 
cessful in direct proportion to the extent to which it 
succeeds in making people do as it says. The "Do it 
now!" injunction is inherently likely to strike a respon- 
sive chord in most natures, and needs only to be 
properly tuned to bring about the desired compliance. 
What is involved in the proper "tuning" has already 
been explained in connection with the charts on pp. 
70, 71. The particular point to be emphasized here is 
that people's minds are instinctively receptive to the 
"Do it now!" idea, and that the psychological way to 
induce the desired buying action is through some phase 
of this idea. 

Thus, advertisements must have an impelling close 
that urges the reader to action, unless they are of the 
"publicity" kind, which do not look so much for imme- 
diate, personal sales as they do for the establishment of 
a name and reputation. Many forms of advertisement 
seeking immediate sales may well have the coupon idea 
incorporated in them (see Figs. 36, 37), and these are 



ELEMENTS OF THE ADVERTISEMENT 



129 




"Is My 

Nose 

Shin 




Yes — it probably is, if you depend upon 
ordinary old-style face powder. But not 
if you made your toilet with wonderful 

Cold Crimed Powder 

Use LA MED A COLD CREAMED powder 
in the morning and you are sure of a velvet 
smooth, powdery fresh appearance all day. 
A skin charm that has none of that over- 
done suggestion. Heat, cold, rain or per- 
spiration will not mar it. 

Guaranteed. Can not promote hair growth. 

Tints — Flesh, White, Peach Blow. Sold 
at toilet and drug counters or sent upon 
receipt of price — 65 cents. 



\ ''ShisXhupon&ringsJA JriaC^ije Jre& \ 




LA MEOA MFG. CO., 103 E. Garfield Blvd.. CHICAGO 

Please send me Free, your Liberal Test Jar of 

LaMeda Cold Creamed Powder i n t he 

tint. I enclose 10 cents, (either stamps, or coin) 
to pay postage and packing. 

Name 

Address 

I usually buy my toilet goods from 



Fig. 36. — "Persuasive" copy appealing- to "Self-gratification" 
(see p. 42), relying on "Suggestion," and with a "clincher" close 
in the form of a coupon calculated to impel immediate action. 
(See p. 127.) 



130 BETTER ADVERTISING 

governed, of course, by what is said above of circulars. 
The principle governing the framing of the close is the 
same for all sales talks, and calls for ingenuity and 
flexibility in its application. 

The psychology of the "clinching" close is forcibly 
illustrated by occurrences that can be observed any day 
in front of retail store windows attractively arranged 
and offering displays that are thoroughly inviting. Let 
us suppose a show window exhibiting an attractive line 
of men's shirts and furnishings. A passer-by stops, 
gazes, examines the display, is interested to the point 
of admitting to himself that he would like to have some 
shirts of just such patterns as he sees displayed in the 
window. He even hesitates and considers entering the 
store in order to buy. But — he hesitates : with the 
result that he decides he will get them tomorrow or the 
next time he passes the store. He moves on, and fails 
to buy. 

All that was necessary to caus»e him to buy was some 
extraneous influence which would impel him to imme- 
diate decision on his first impulse and to consequent 
favorable action. It is not to be denied that show 
windows serve to sell goods. But that many persons 
are but half persuaded as a result of seeing a display 
of attractive goods is equally not to be denied. And 
herein lies a principle which may profitably be applied 
to the advertisement. 

The psychology of a situation such as we have men- 
tioned is thoroughly appreciated by the small dealer in, 
say, second-hand clothes. He makes it a point to stand 
in his doorway, where he insistently urges such hesi- 
tating prospects as he sees, to enter his store. Not 
to enter is difficult, requires powers of resistance pos- 
sessed by few. The result is that he generally sue- 



ELEMENTS OF THE ADVERTISEMENT 



131 



Who Wants More Money? 



Mr. Vernon of 
Colorado DicL 

He was in school and 
he found he needed a 
good bit of money to 
"keep up with the 
boys." He wanted to 
be always well 
dressed, he liked to 
take part in all the 
student activities, he 
enjoyed a pocketful of 
©pending money, and, 
besides, he was plan- 
ning on a college 
course in the fall. 
Like most energetic, 
upstanding young 
men he was deter- 
mined to get the most 
out of his opportu- 
nity — socially as well 
,as intellectually — and 
that takes money. So 
he began looking 
about for a sure, 
iteady supply. 




And This Is 
How He Got It. 

He came upon an ad- 
vertisement much like 
the one you are now 
reading, and began to 
figure. He knew that 
many of the worth- 
while people of his 
acquaintance were 
regular readers o f 
THE LADIES' 
HOME JOURNAL 
or THE COUNTRY 
GENTLEMAN. He 
reasoned, rightly, that 
an industrious worker 
ought to be able to 
secure a good many 
subscription orders, 
so he wrote us. Since 
that time he has had 
$10.00— $20.00— some- 
times $30.00 extra to 
spend each month. 



You, Too, Can Have Extra Dollars 

If you have even a few hours a week to spare, you can earn 
plenty of extra money acting as a subscription representative 
of the universally popular Curtis publications. No experience 
ts required; the work is easy and pleasant; the commissions 
and salaries unusually generous. Let us tell you all about it. 

CLIP AND SEND TODAY! 

The Curtis Publishing Company, 

608 Independence Square, Philadelphia, Penna. 

Gentlemen : I can spare a few hours each week for your work if the pay 

is liberal enough. Please tell me about your offer. 

NAME STREET OR R. F. D 

TOWN STATE 



Fig. 37. — Example of the "human interest" tone and of the 
clinching close. The dominant appeal is, of course, to the "Desire 
for Gain." (See p. 42.) 



132 BETTER ADVERTISING 

ceeds in making a sale, because he succeeds in crystal- 
lizing the customer's hesitation into decision and result- 
ing action, by means of his argument and persuasion, 
or even by the hypnotic power of mere insistence. 

An advertisement offers the goods — as does the show 
window — but unless it does more, it is but a show win- 
dow — and is even less attractive than the display of a 
good show window. In order to accomplish more than 
is accomplished by the mute display, the advertisement 
must combine the effect of the display — the offering — 
with something that will assist in crystallizing desire 
into action. It must "clinch" the sale by an insistent? 
persuasion, bringing decision as a climax to the emo- 
tions of interest and desire awakened by the early part 
of the advertisement, and impelling the reader to the 
act of writing the order of purchase or of proceeding 
to the store to buy. 

When an idea finds lodgment in the human mind, 
the natural tendency is for the mind to translate the 
idea into action. This is a trite principle, but a highly 
important one in advertising practice. If the adver- 
tisement can be made to instil in the mind of the reader 
the idea that he needs the product offered, that he ought 
to buy it, and that now is the time to do it, human nature 
is such that he is very likely to translate that idea into 
action — and that should be the fundamental purpose of 
all direct advertising. 

REVIEW 

Finally, although use of the charts may guard yon 
against error in making an analysis of your product, 
of the market, and of the dominant tone of your copy, 
there is always the possibility that in your first draft 
you may resort to a form of language — a style — which. 



ELEMENTS OF THE ADVERTISEMENT 133 

on sober second examination will not commend itself 
to you as it did when you first wrote it. 

Look once more at Fig. 12. Suppose that you had 
planned that particular advertisement, and that in your 
first draft, instead of what is now the headline, you 
had written: "Tell Others About It!" It is quite 
true that, superficially speaking, this expresses in a 
general way a large part of what is said in the adver- 
tisement. And in your first enthusiasm for this method 
of approach you might, perhaps, be justified in com- 
mencing with such a line. Nevertheless you would be 
beyond all excuse or justification if, after having writ- 
ten the copy and having put it away for a while, you 
had been content to let such a headline remain. If, 
having so happily expressed your great idea, as is done 
in the body of the advertisement, the headline, "Tell 
Others About It!" had not shocked you, as tame and 
really a failure, you would indeed have missed the point 
of your own work and of its possible effect on the mind 
of others. For the thought of "telling others" that 
seems to pervade the advertisement is not the prevailing 
thought that is going to fasten on the mind of the reader, 
but is a masterly cloak designed for covering the delicate 
and subtle insinuation that the self-interest of the reader 
lies in using the shaving cream Tiirnself, and incidentally, 
telling others about it, perhaps. 

Since the idea of the headline is to attract attention, 
notice what a wide difference there is between the two 
we have been considering: 

Tell Others About It! 
Would You — for a Friend ? 
The first, after all, gives no attractive pull on the read- 
er's mind; it does not grip him — or perhaps even it 
may warn him away. Why should he care to tell others 



134 BETTER ADVERTISING 

about something, he doesn't know what? And what has 
he to do with "others," anyway? 

But the second — doesn't it draw your interest so that 
you feel you must know more about what is being 
referred to? Of course, we are all ready to do it for 
a friend — whatever it is. One feels almost compelled 
to read on, in order to find out. 

"What is true of the headline is true also of the body. 
If a mistaken analysis is made of your subject, and if 
you should adopt a mistaken tone of appeal, which, how- 
ever masterly the language you employ, is yet wholly 
unsuited to the class constituting your market, your 
advertisement is doomed to failure, no matter how forc- 
ible it may appear in the abstract, or as a mere mat- 
ter of literary composition. It is better to find this 
out beforehand, even at the cost of sacrificing your own 
self-conceit. And the chances are that if you are as 
intensely critical of your own work, as you should be, 
you will spare yourself much loss and mortification, 
which, without such criticism, you are very likely to 
incur. Here, then, is where you can effectively apply 
the suggestions made on p. 135, regarding criticism of 
your own work. 

Finally, these suggestions may be helpful, by way of 
epitome : 

1. Plan your advertisement with cold-blooded preci- 
sion on the lines indicated by the chart. 

2. Make a mental picture of: 

1. The Product 
offered to 2. The Market 
through 3. The Dominant Appeal 
with due reference to 4. Buying Motives 

aiming to create 5. The Decision to Buy 
crystallized into 6. Action 



ELEMENTS OF THE ADVERTISEMENT 135 

3. When the outlines of your picture are clear-cut 
and definite, the imagination may be given a duly con- 
trolled opportunity to fill in the psychological details 
of self-interest, of persuasiveness, as well as of proof, 
etc., that the situation appears to demand. 

4. Enthusiasm for your own creation should never 
be allowed to persuade you to accept the first draft of 
your copy. The first draft is never so good as the 
second; the third will be better still. 

5. "When you are fully satisfied, lay the copy aside. 
Later take it up again and criticize it by asking your- 
self sternly: Does it meet this requirement, and that 
requirement, and that other requirement, of the chart? 
If it does not arouse your enthusiasm, it will not have 
much effect on your public. Be mercilessly severe with 
yourself and with your copy. For the public is merci- 
less until it is won. 

6. Your task is to win your public. 



CHAPTER VII 

COMMERCIAL LITERATURE FOR ADVERTISING 
PURPOSES 

If viewed as advertising material, a circular, a book- 
let, a folder, or a catalogue has but one justification, 
which is to effect, or to assist in effecting, sales. To 
some extent this may be achieved by merely printing a 
list of the goods on paper. But this is equally true of 
the salesman without personality or pleasing manners — 
he will inevitably sell some goods at some time. But 
even as "the earth and all that there is in it" are said 
to be open to the grasp of the salesman of pleasing per- 
sonality and of "human" characteristics, so the booklet 
or circular must be pleasing in appearance, must win 
the interest — and sustain it too — by its attractive 
arrangement, its skillful decorativeness, its inviting 
makeup, and, above all, its "human" tone. Some of the 
details just mentioned are mechanical, in the sense of 
being dependent on the artist and the printer for their 
result. Discussion of this phase of the subject is reserved 
for another volume in this series. 

1. THE CIRCULAR OR BOOKLET 

There remains, however, to consider the question of 
putting on the printed page of the circular a real sales 
talk, and of avoiding the perfunctory and the common- 

136 



COMMERCIAL LITERATURE 137 

place. Whether the circular or booklet is to be used 
to support a sales letter, to support a reply to an inquiry, 
or for circulation independently of any letter, it must 
be so framed as to carry a convincing sales talk — it must 
be, in fact, a salesman in print. The form will depend 
on the use to which the printed matter is to be put. 

It is not enough, then, to decide in a general way to 
have a "circular" as part of your advertising literature. 
The questions to be met and answered first of all are: 
What part is it to play in the advertising scheme, and 
what is it to be planned to accomplish? 

Naturally, if it is to be an enclosure with a sales let- 
ter, sent to new prospects, it must be worded differently 
and must have a different tone from one destined to 
be sent to old and steady customers by way of reminder 
and of general publicity. Again, it will have to be of 
still different character and tone if it is destined for 
the final step in a series of follow-ups designed to win 
the prospect to take the desired action of buying. 

In the first instance mentioned, the circular will be 
more or less descriptive, containing, also, perhaps, details 
of price, with more or less indication of the quality and 
merit of the article offered. Being unlimited as to the 
number of pages that it may contain, there need never 
be a dearth of space for the most adequate description. 

In the second case, it will perhaps devote itself largely 
to showing the extent to which the product has recently 
been improved, to the growing demand for it, and to 
such talking points as are suggested by the proper column 
of the charts on pp. 70, 71. It will be profitable, too, to 
enlarge on the "service" that is offered. This is a sub- 
ject that can always be made convincing and interesting 
to the public, which is invariably impressed by the cour- 
tesy, promptness, personal interest and care which the 



138 BETTER ADVERTISING 

word "service" implies. So effective a subject is this, 
indeed, that large stores are sometimes to be found adver- 
tising this alone, instead of the goods they have for 
sale. Any individual touch that can be given to the 
"service" offered makes that feature stand out favor- 
ably as against competitors, and forms the elements for 
a successful publicity campaign. 

Another device that has proved highly successful when 
a circular is sent without a sales letter accompanying 
it, is to enclose it in a letter of a nature similar to the 
following: 

An offering of the utmost importance, 
affecting every individual and company in 

the industry is "briefly described 

in the enclosed circular. 

You will find it to your personal advantage 
to read it. 

The matter described will certainly inter- 
est — and will probably astonish — you. 

For your own good — read it! 

The psychology of such a communication lies in the 
fact that few persons can overcome their curiosity, and 
therefore most of those who receive the circular will at 
least open it and look it over. The habit is growing 
for busy people to throw circulars into the waste basket, 
unopened and unread, when they are received in a one- 
cent envelope with no communication or other accom- 
panying sheet. If sent in a two-cent envelope, even 
accompanied by nothing but such an "interest awak- 
ener" as the form letter shown above, the circular has 
a far better chance of gaining an audience than when 
sent alone. 



COMMERCIAL LITERATURE 139 

As intimated above, however, the ideal use of such 
commercial literature is in connection with a sales letter 
or a follow-up letter, to either of which the circular 
is complementary. 

In the third case supposed above, printed literature 
will serve more in the capacity of the " close" of an 
advertisement, by adducing proof of the excellence of 
the product by means of testimonials or otherwise, and 
by containing a ' l clincher ' ' in the form of a spur to 
action by the reader. It will perhaps, also, contain a 
post card or a coupon, the signing of which is urged on 
the reader by way of climax. 

Nor are these all of the possible differences. Printed 
matter designed to accomplish the sale of mousetraps 
would obviously be less elaborate, less ornamental, less 
dignified, as well as less lengthy, than a booklet devoted 
to the sale of, say, automobiles or heating plants. The 
second consideration to be determined in advance of the 
writing of the copy is, therefore, the appropriateness 
of language, of display, and of size, to the purpose in 
view. 

As will be seen, then, the preparation of commercial 
literature involves as the first steps: (1) an analysis of 
the prospective purchaser and (2) an analysis of the 
product, in order to determine: (1) the plan of the 
sales campaign, (2) the part that the specific piece of 
printed matter is to play in the campaign, and, from 
this, (3) what its size, appearance, and general treatment 
shall be. 

Most advertisers who send out circulars fully appre- 
ciate the fact that a considerable proportion of them 
find a resting-place in the wastebasket without ever being 
given a reading by the person to whom they are sent. 
Much ingenuity has been expended on methods which 



140 BETTER ADVERTISING 

are designed to overcome the natural disposition of busy 
men to cast aside a printed document which is obviously 
advertising matter. One encounters many a circular 
which fails to disclose on its cover what it is about, 
but which bears some startling or attention-getting 
legend, such as: 

If You Throw This Folder 

into the Wastebasket — 

Put the Wastebasket 

in the Safe! 

It is highly questionable whether this sort of thing does 
not react on the advertiser. It smacks of getting atten- 
tion on false pretenses, so to speak. On the whole, the 
advertiser is most likely to be successful in inducing 
a reading of the contents of his circular or booklet if 
the cover bears an attractive statement which awakens 
legitimate interest — not mere curiosity. The latter is 
likely to be dissipated on very short notice and on very 
slender grounds. 

As has been said already, the language and character 
of the body of the booklet will depend on the object to 
which the booklet is to be devoted. These will be deter- 
mined by reference to the charts on pp. 70, 71, just as in 
the case of the advertisement. Mechanically, again, the 
text must be broken up with frequent subheads, with such 
artistic details as may be thought desirable. The art 
features are not part of our present subject. The prin- 
cipal psychological value of subheads, captions, etc., lies 
in attracting attention, in their making reference easy, 
emphasizing selling points, and in assisting the under- 
standing. Paragraphs should be brief, sentences short, 
and the progress from point to point and from subject 



COMMERCIAL LITERATURE 141 



25c to 75c You Save! 

Give this fine, fat, juicy coin the once-over! 

Put it over all the bumps from the good, old-fashioned bite to 
that modern bromide, the "acid test." 

If you can't dope out enough third-degree stuff, call in our 
representative and let him help you. 

And when the final returns are in, you'll find that this new 
coin is no 52-cent H. C. L. near-dollar, but 100-cent "cash 
money" that assays like this — 

75c for your own pocket 25c all you need to spend 

or better still, for rein- to get as good or better 

vestment in your busi- terms as you got from 

ness your old dollar 

100c on the dollar! 

Fig. 38. — An instance of a dangerous type of advertising. This 
slangy, familiar tone was adopted for the reading matter of the 
first page of a folder that was sent to business houses as a sales 
argument. Its effectiveness is highly doubtful. 



142 BETTER ADVERTISING 

to subject should be logical, easy, and unforced. The 
volume entitled Better Business English, published in 
this series, should be consulted freely and constantly in 
this connection. 

In circulars of appropriate size, effectiveness is greatly 
increased by writing copy with a definite view to devot- 
ing one or more complete pages to a given branch of the 
subject, beginning each new point with a new page. 
Thus each page or group of completed pages will repre- 
sent logical stages in the sales talk, and consequently 
will help to sustain the interest of the reader through 
this sort of mechanical means. This suggestion applies, 
of course, to circulars the size of the pages of which 
is such as to permit this somewhat arbitrary handling of 
the subject-matter. The amount of copy that will fit 
a given number of pages is easily ascertained. The 
length of the proposed type-line (the width of the printed 
page) and the depth of the page (the number of lines 
on the page) and the size of the type to be used will 
first be ascertained. Your printer will advise you on 
these points. The average number of words in a type 
line of the ascertained length multiplied by the number 
of lines to the page will give the average number of 
words to the page. The number of words contained in 
any portion of the copy can be approximately estimated 
by the same method, and the latter can then be cut 
down or added to, so as to make up the number of words 
needed to fit the space allotted. 

It is outside the province of this book to discuss 
typographical arrangement and display, but the import- 
ance of frequently breaking up the reading matter with 
subheads must not be lost sight of. It is not out of 
place to urge the advantage of studying as large a col- 
lection of pamphlets and circulars as can be obtained, 



COMMERCIAL LITERATURE 143 

so as to get an ' ' eye-education ' ' in the details of mechan- 
ical treatment. 

The circular must either accomplish the same thing 
that the advertisement is planned to do, that is, elicit 
orders from those whom it is planned to reach; or it 
must be so framed as to create a widespread demand 
which is expected to be satisfied by local dealers accessible 
to the readers, which is what is termed "publicity"; 
or it may be used as the "opening gun" in a follow-up 
series which is planned to be completed by a set of 
letters ; or it may be in the nature of a catalogue, in the 
sense of being compiled with the idea that it will be 
kept on hand and be distributed to individual inquir- 
ers, as demanded. A circular with detailed descriptive 
matter, with illustrations of the product, and giving 
prices and other details, is often highly useful in reply- 
ing to letters of inquiry. If it is compiled with this 
end in view, it serves to relieve the letter of reply from 
the burden of full description and to leave it more free 
for sales talk. A circular designed to go hand in hand 
with sales letters can thus be made to carry the descrip- 
tion which would otherwise have to be incorporated in 
the letter. Thus each can add to the effectiveness of 
the other, if properly planned. 

In short, the selling scheme, the sales talk, the tone 
of the appeal, of the circular are all controlled by the 
general advertising principles discussed in the present 
work. The subject of the "close" of the circular calls 
for some comment. 

If the circular is to be sent out broadcast, for promis- 
cuous distribution, or is to be used from time to time 
for giving information in response to an inquiry, it is 
little more than a specialized catalogue in character. It 
cannot embody the live sales talk, nor can it be given 



144 BETTER ADVERTISING 

the urgent "Do it now!" close, which an advertising; 
scheme should have that is prepared for distribution to 
a specific list of prospects at a given time. The general 
tone of such a circular is more that of the catalogue, 
and its close can be little more than a dignified summary 
of the descriptive material and the superior advantages 
of the product described. 

The circular that is designed for a specific campaign, 
on the other hand, is to all intents and purposes, an 
advertisement, and its tone throughout is governed by 
the sales talk appropriate to the product and to the 
market in view. Here the close must possess the form 
of the "clincher," designed to stimulate definite and 
immediate action. This is discussed at the end of Chap- 
ter VI, under the caption, "The Close." 

The close of a circular or of a folder which forms 
part of a specific sales campaign is a subject to which 
considerable thought should be given. A circular which 
is compiled with the idea of being mailed to a definite 
list of prospects and through which it is planned to effect 
sales is much the same as a sales letter. It is a sales 
talk. As such, in order to be effective, it must follow 
the lines of advertising and of a sales letter as well. 
In other words, the climax must be reached in the close, 
and in at must be the last urgent suggestion to action 
— to order, to buy. 

The salesman, as he reaches the culmination of his 
sales talk, places the order blank before the prospect 
with the urgent : * ' Sign here, NOW ! ' ' The same thing 
can be accomplished in the kind of circular named above, 
by means of a coupon to be torn from the last page, or 
by a post card enclosed in the circular, and by making 
in the circular itself the final suggestion that the reader 
"Act today!" How he is to act must be plainly stated, 



COMMERCIAL LITERATURE 145 

action must be made easy: "Simply sign the enclosed 
card and mail it. "We will do the rest!" The " climax' ' 
— the "clincher," coming on top of the description and 
persuasion that have gone before, should be so strong, 
so impelling to action, that the reader is induced to 
yield to the temptation to sign as asked. 

Finally, as was said at the opening of this chapter, 
the selling plan must impress itself on the printed mate- 
rial, so that it be made as logically persuasive, impelling, 
and decisive, as is a convincing sales talk. It must 
be borne in mind that the printed page is intended to 
be more permanent in its nature than is the letter or 
the transient advertisement. Hence no pains or ingen- 
uity should be spared to insure for commercial literature 
such as booklets, circulars, etc., as much of a continuing 
interest as is possible, in the effort to insure its preserva- 
tion and its repeated reading. This result can be con- 
tributed to by " cut-outs ' ' and by art work that attracts 
the eye and tends to make the owner reluctant to throw 
it away. Human interest of some sort — and the printer 
can suggest a multiplicity of devices in this direction — 
will contribute materially to more or less permanence. 
The printer can likewise be appealed to for a specimen 
sheet of his type assortment, and from this can be selected 
the sizes of type desired for the text and for the display 
lines, such as subheads, titles, captions, etc. This, how- 
ever, is a proceeding for which few are qualified without 
special assistance or previous training. 

2. THE "STUFFER" OR SMALL FOLDER 

The one distinction worth pointing out here is that 
between the small "stuffer" and the circular. The for- 
mer is designed more to attract attention and less to 
convey information (at least, of a detailed nature) than 



146 BETTER ADVERTISING 

is the circular. For this reason, it generally proves to 
be more of a publicity agent than anything else. This 
characterization applies, of course, to the usual small 
single sheet of envelope size, or folded once or twice 
so as to fit the envelope, which is designed to be inserted 
with letters, monthly statements, etc., or to the "f older/' 
usually of two or three pages. The circular, whether 
small or large, which consists of enough pages to carry 
a full description of the product, is discussed separately 
above. 

The "staffer," then, while usually consisting largely 
of one or more illustrations, with but few lines of read- 
ing matter, offers, for that very reason, a difficult prob- 
lem in respect to language and tone. If, as is common, 
the illustration monopolizes the greater part of the space 
available, it will tax the ingenuity and imagination to 
make the few lines of reading matter for which there 
is space serve to attract attention, awaken interest, and 
create desire. Because of the limitations, there is but 
narrow opportunity for effort directed to converting 
desire into action; and, because of these limitations, 
once more, the utmost skill in choosing the language to 
be employed is necessary. Failing this, a good deal of 
this class of advertising matter achieves little more than 
publicity for the article displayed, and hence often falls 
short of the actual possibilities. 

A device in the nature of a " follow-up " of an adver- 
tisement, that often proves remarkably effective, is to 
mail a post-card to a carefully compiled list of prospects 
worded after this fashion: 

Page 54 of this week's Saturday Evening 
Post contains an item of interest to you, which 
you will find over our signature. 

Smith, Jones & Co. 



COMMERCIAL LITERATURE 147 



The utility of the enclosed blotter is not limited merely 
to its absorbent qualities. Its message offers a useful 
service to you in the production of better printing. 
Keep the blotter on your desk until its blotting use- 
fulness is spent, but keep its message in your mind 
when surveying your printing needs; then use the 
accompanying post card. 

Fig. 39. — A "stuffer" that was sent out attached to a blotter; on 
the latter was printed the name and business of the firm of printers 
sending it out. This is a sample of commercial advertising that is 
designed to attract attention. 



148 BETTER ADVERTISING 

The psychological effect of receiving such a brief notice 
is to stimulate curiosity — interest — which ordinarily 
insures the reading of the advertisement, even if to 
procure a copy of the publication entails considerable 
effort. After that, results depend upon the advertise- 
ment, of course. This method is of practical value 
with almost any class of trade, and with almost any 
class of goods advertised. Its effectiveness, so far as 
practical results are concerned, depends, naturally, on 
the care and judgment with which the list of names is 
compiled to which the post card is to be addressed. 
Lists of persons in every walk of life, reported to bo 
prospective purchasers of specific lines of goods or of 
specific articles, are always obtainable from concerns 
which compile them for sale for just such purposes. 

A good illustration of what may be achieved in small 
space is furnished by Fig. 40. Note how the language 
of the display line harmonizes with the illustration which 
fills the greater part of the space. Together, the illus- 
tration and the display line tell the story, and tell it so 
effectively that the victims of oppressive heat, longing 
for fresh breezes, can actually visualize the relief that 
is offered them. Thus they are led unconsciously but 
forcefully to desire the device that will bring that relief 
— an electric fan. Implication and imagination go hand 
in hand in accomplishing the object of the advertiser. 
And this is all achieved with a half-dozen lines of type, 

This illustration is well worth study, as showing how 
effectively ideas conveyed by illustration, assisted by 
concise language, can be utilized to achieve almost as 
much as a detailed advertisement. It is an example of 
the psychological use of "imagery" as a means of per- 
suasion and of creating desire. 



COMMERCIAL LITERATURE 



149 




- — 




Where the Cool Breezes Come From" 

When it's one of those hot days, yes and sultry, 
you'll be grateful for the cool breezes that come from 

Western Electric 
FANS 

Cool breezes to work in, to play in, to sleep in, — 
that's what this fan blows to you. Prepare now to 
make the hot days cool days. 



Fig. 40. — This is folded twice to fit the envelope. Note the 
brevity of the reading- matter, and the reliance placed on the "sug- 
gestion" of the illustration. The reading matter does little more 
than "carry" the illustration. 



INDEX 

Action. 

(See Buying Action.) 

Advertising, analysis of market in 35 

analysis of problems in 70, 71 

analysis of subject 13, 35, 106 

appeal, the, in 10, 34, 40 

appropriate language in 51, 54 

argumentative copy in , 25 

body of advertisement 124-26 

charts for preliminary analysis of 70, 71 

circulars, use of, in 24 

clearness in 57 

close of advertisement 126-32 

comic, effect of, discussed ". 25 

conciseness in 57 

coupon, uses of, in ... ' 129, 131, 134 

criticism of copy in 134-35 

criticism of competitors in 60, 92 

department stores . . 32, 105 

description in 106 

"direct" 15, 34 

elementary principles in 27, 28 

familiarity of tone in . 51, 52 

folders, uses of, in 140, 145-49 

framed so as to attract most of possible buyers. . . . 51 

generalities in . 59 

"good will" 15 

headlines of advertisement 116-24 

human element in 13,64 

"human interest" copy 87 

"institutional" 15, 16, 79, 85 

illustrations in 17 

is "sales talk" 12, 14, 40 

not a mere announcement. 13, 66 

"one thing at a time" in 83 

personality in 12, 54, 56, 62 

persuasion in 101 

151 



152 INDEX 

"point of contact," the 39, 44 

propaganda : . 24 

proper tone to adopt in 34, 41, 47 

proportion in 59 

psychology in relation to 11,34 

"publicity" 15, 16, 79, 85 

qualities needed in 14 

"reason why" copy 87, 88 

salesmanship in 10, 38 

self-interest to be appealed to in 60, 64 

simplicity in 58 

slang in 51 

stating conclusions in 60 

"style" in 51, 54, 56, 60 

suggestion in 97 

superlatives in 59 

untruths in 38, 60 

what constitutes good 10 

what copy must achieve 26 

word pictures in 12 

writing copy for 35, 44 

(See also Appeal in Advertising; "Direct" Adver- 
tising; "Good will" Advertising; Headline; "Insti- 
tutional" Advertising; Psychology; "Publicity" Ad- 
vertising; Salesmanship; Sequence.) 

Analytical style 56, 69, 104 

of copy 79 

Appeal, the, in advertising 10, 40 

emotions to be considered in framing the 44 

in "direct" advertising 34, 40 

influence on, of psychology 10 

to be addressed to ruling emotion of a class 41 

Argumentative style 25, 56, 69, 78, 79 

Association, influence on, by pictures 17 

law of 22 

slogans and their connection with 31 

trademarks and their connection with 31 

Attention to be arrested by advertisement 28 

Body of advertisement 124-26 

blending of selling motive with sales appeal in 125 

Buying action 9 

(See also Buying Motives) 

Buying motives discussed 41 

how selected as object of appeal 68-69 



INDEX 153 

listed 42-43 

which to appeal to 49 

Caution, as a buying motive 42 

examples of appeal to 48, 50, 58 

Charts for preliminary analysis of advertising problems 70, 71 

Circulars, close of 144 

limitations and uses of 84 

mechanical arrangement of 142 

various uses of 137, 144 

Clearness in copy 57 

Close of advertisement 126-32 

psychology of 130 

what it must achieve 127 

Comic advertisement, the, discussed 25, 28 

example of appeal to 27 

risk involved in 28 

Competition, as a buying motive 43 

example of appeal to 50 

Conciseness in copy 57 

Conversational style 56 

Copy-writing. 

( See Advertising) 

Coupon, uses of, in advertising 129,131,139 

Cream of Wheat advertisements discussed 19, 29 

mental processes evoked by, illustrated 22 

Decision, by prospect 9, 105, 111 

Demand, how to be stimulated 40 

Description, value and use of 106 

Descriptive style 56, 69 

of copy 79, 98-99 

Desire, created or stimulated 9 

fundamentals for awakening 40 

must be created Ill 

Desire for gain, as a buying motive 42 

example of appeal to 45,46 

"Direct" advertising 15 

appeal in 34 

object of 19, 34 

what it is 34 

(See also Advertising) 

Dutch Cleanser advertisement discussed 97 

Elements of advertisement 109-35 



154 INDEX 

Emotions, appeal to the 41, 44 

listed 42, 43 

Examples: of analytical copy 104 

of appeal to Caution 48, 50, 58 

of appeal to Competition 50, 98-99, 117 

of appeal to Forethought 81 

of appeal to Moral and Esthetic Instincts 104 

of appeal to Self-gratification 

63, 65, 75, 91, 93, 94, 98-99, 100, 129 

of appeal to Self-interest 81 

of appeal to Utility 74, 75, 93, 104 

of argumentative copy 25, 78 

of "clincher" close 129, 131 

of combined appeal to Desire for Gain and to Cau- 
tion 45, 131 

of combined appeal to Moral and Esthetic Instincts, 

to Caution, and to Desire for -Gain 46 

of comic advertisement 27 

of conversational and narrative form of copy. .53, 55, 91 

of familiarity and of slangy tone 53 

of folders 141, 149 

of "good will" copy 18, 85 

of use of head lines 50, 78, 112, 113, 115, 117, 119, 120, 121, 123 

of "human interest" tone in copy 

63, 85, 93, 94, 96, 98-99, 102, 131 

of impelling copy 94 

of inappropriate illustration and introduction 121 

of "institutional" copy 21, 46 

of interrogative copy 96 

of narrative copy : . 91 

of persuasive copy 63, 102 

of propaganda copy 21 

of "publicity" copy 24, 85 

of "reason why" copy 58, 89, 93, 110 

of sequence 112, 113, 115, 119 

of stuffer 146 

of suggestion and description 74-75, 96 

of suggestive copy 81, 96, 129, 149 

of use of coupon in advertisement 129, 131 

of use of subheads 117 

Folders discussed 140, 145, 49 

example of 140, 141, 145 

(See also Advertising; Circulars) 

Gold Dust Twins advertisements discussed 25, 97 



INDEX 155 

"Good will" advertising , . . 15, 16, 79, 85, 

buying motives appealed to in 33 

defined , 16 

difference between "direct" and 32 

illustrations of 17 

meaning of, in charts 32 

object of 19, 20, 25, 28 

"one idea at a time" in 29, 121 

psychological appeal in 28 

use of association and memory in 19, 22 

(See also Advertising; "Institutional" Advertis- 
ing; "Publicity" Advertising.) 

Headline, appropriateness of 118 

examples of. .... .50, 78, 112, 113, 115, 117, 119, 120, 121, 123 

purpose of Ill, 116, 133 

use of 24 

varieties of forms of 118 

"Human interest" copy 63, 85, 87, 93, 94, 95, 96, 102 

defined . . 107 

elements of 95 

Illustrations, "associational" influence of 17 

examples of use of 24, 27, 61, 121, 149 

how used as a substitute for language 24 

must be pertinent 26, 121 

part played by, in "publicity" advertising 17 

pertinency of 26, 121 

trademarks as 31 

use of, for suggestion 24, 100 

Imagery. 

(See Pictures; Illustrations.) 

Imagination, stimulated by use of pictures 12 

Impelling style 56, 69 

of copy 79, 94 

"Institutional" advertising 15, 16, 79, 85 

buying motives appealed to in 33 

defined 16 

difference between "direct" and 32 

object of 19, 20, 25, 28 

"one idea at a time" in 29 

psychological appeal in 28 

use of association and memory in 19, 22 

(See also Advertising; "Good Will" Advertising; 
"Publicity" Advertising.) 



156 INDEX 

Interest, awakening of. 9, 28 

Interrogative style 56, 96 

(See also Examples) 



Market, necessity of analysis of the 35, 38, 39, 41, 47, 68, 90 

Moral and esthetic instincts, as a buying motive 43 

(See also Examples) 



Name of advertiser, connection between, and product. . 26 

Narrative style 55,56,91 

(See also Examples) 



Old Dutch Cleanser advertisements discussed 25 



Pears' Soap advertisement discussed 26 

Personality necessary in advertising 12 

Persuasion 101-106 

Persuasive style 56), 61, 63, 69 

copy showing 61, 79, 98, 99 

(See also Examples) 

Pictures, effect of imagery in use of 12 

word pictures 12 

(See also Illustrations) 

Propaganda advertising 24 

object of 24 

(See also Advertising) 

Product, analysis of 35, 68, 90 

connection between, and name of advertiser 26 

Proportion in copy 59 

Psychology, application of, to writing copy 34, 39 

imagery, uses of 12 

nature of appeal indicated by 10, 40, 148 

teachings of, in relation to use of pictures 12 

what it teaches, in relation to advertising 10, 22 

(See also Advertising; Salesmanship) 

"Publicity" advertising 15, 16, 79, 85 

buying motives appealed to in 33 

defined 16 

difference between "direct" and 32 

illustrations in 17 

meaning of, in charts 32 

object of 19, 20, 25, 28 

"one idea at a time" in 29 



INDEX 157 

psychological appeal in 28 

use of association and memory in 19, 22 

(See also Advertising; "Good Will" Advertising; 
"Institutional" Advertising.) 

Publicity style 56, 69 

(See also Examples) 
"Punch" in advertising 11 

"Reason why" copy 58, 69, 79, 87, 88, 89, 93, 110 

defined 107 

object of. 90 

Royal Baking Powder advertisement discussed 19, 20 

Sales appeal 125 

Salesmanship, psychology of 11 

what is involved in 11 

(See also Advertising; Psychology) 

Sales resistance 49 

Self-gratification as a buying motive 42 

illustration of appeal to 61, 63, 65, 74, 75, 91, 100 

Self-interest as the dominant passion 60 

examples of appeal to 81 

Sequence of ideas, law of Ill 

Sequence of material in advertisement 109-116, 134 

examples of 112, 113, 115, 119 

Simplicity of style 58 

Slang in advertising, condemned 51 

Slogan, the 29 

"associational" influence of 31 

examples of 30 

must be pertinent 30 

"Spotless Town" jingles discussed 26 

Stuffers 145 

"Style" in advertising copy. 
(See Advertising) 

Suggestion 96, 97, 100 

Suggestive style 56, 61, 69, 74, 75 

of copy 61, 79, 96, 100 

Trademarks, value of 30 

Utility, as a buying motive 42 

example of appeal to 61, 74-75 

"Velvet Joe" advertisements discussed . : 97 

Zu-zu advertisements discussed 25 



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